Don't Stop Believing
by XxMr.Mister1991xX
Summary: As school is starting back, Tai finds himself having strange feelings for Sora. Then something amazing happens one day that changes their lives forever. Taiora. DISCONTINUED.
1. I: Back in School

Hello. Again, despite all my going on about, "I'm done writing" and all that, I am coming back again. I know, I sound like Brett Favre. I promise, I won't pull a stunt like that again. Anyway, enough of that. Here's my newest story. It's a Taiora fic called "Don't Stop Believing," after my favorite song. It's set in an AU. Enjoy! Once again, it's time for my least favorite thing about writing; the infamous disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. It's property of Toei.

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><p>I: Back in School<p>

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><p>"He's running... He's running... He shoots... He <strong>SCORES!<strong>" The announcer shouted over the PA system. "Taichi "Tai" Kaimiya kicks the game winning goal!" Tai had just kicked the winning goal in the Japanese national high school championship game. The crowd all rose up out of their seats and cheered at the top of their lungs and waved their arms. Odaiba had fallen behind early, but had mounted a furious comeback. Tai held his right hand high up in the air and extended his index finger to signal that he and his team were number one. The opposing team hung their heads low in defeat. To come this far only to suffer a heart-breaking loss was just almost too much to take. Tai's teammates rushed up to him. They picked Tai up and held him up above. The team walked past the bleachers to wave at the fans and then paraded into the locked room. Once inside, the coach spoke to the team. He praised them for their performance, and made especially sure to mention Tai. As much as Tai loved to be in the limelight, he couldn't help but be a little bashful. The coach dismissed the team and they walked out of the locker room. Out in the hallway, one of the players spoke up and said, "Dinner for the whole team, on me!" The hallway broke out into a loud roar. Tai was about to follow his teammates to the restaurant, but he heart a very familiar voice call his name. It was Sora.

"Tai!" Sora called out, trying to get Tai's attention before he left.

Tai turned and saw Sora trying to catch up to him. "Hey, Sora!" Tai said as he walked over towards Sora.

"That was some game," Sora said, putting her arms behind her back.

"Wasn't it! Just think, I scored the winning goal in THE championship game!" Tai's eyes lit up. "Soccer teams from all around are going to hear about this and want me to play on their team! This is so cool!"

"I know, cool, right? That was a daring shot you made back there. It was almost blocked."

"No guts, no glory!" Tai said, flashing one of his trademark cheesy grins.

"Then let me show you something even more gutsy."

"What could be more gutsy than that shot I pulled off?" Tai got his answer in the form of a long, passionate kiss. A shocked Tai tried to pull away at first, but then gave up. Even though the kiss was out of nowhere, he kind of liked it. Sora finally let Tai go after several seconds. As Sora let Tai go, he lost his balance and almost fell. "Whoa..."

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><p>"Hello! Earth to Tai!"<p>

"Huh!" Tai suddenly snapped back to his senses. He had been daydreaming.

"Being a night owl caught up to you, eh?" Kari, Tai's younger sister, laughed.

"Laugh all you want, I've seen you staying up late, reading your tween magazines under your cover with a flashlight."

Kari stared at Tai, surprised. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kari tried to avoid eye contact with Tai.

"Yeah, you do."

Kari sighed. "Okay, you caught me." Tai snickered. He then started staring at his breakfast again. "Tai, you's best hurry up and eat. Today is the first day of school."

"Don't remind me..."

Kari giggled at her brother. "The first day is usually the easiest."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm still going back to school."

Kari rolled her eyes. "I, for one, am happy to be going back to school."

"You're just happy you get to see Tk again."

"Am not!" Kari huffed.

Tai put his plate in the sink and grabbed his backpack. "Let's go."

Kari got her backpack as well, and the two set off for school. The walk was silent for the most part, which was a bit of an oddity for the two siblings. Tai, his mind being on the fact that he was going back school, was disinterested and Kari couldn't think of anything interesting to talk about. Tai started thinking about earlier, about his daydream. Tai dreaming of doing something heroic like kicking the game-winning goal in a big soccer match was nothing new. But he couldn't figure out the part with Sora. Come to think of it, Tai had been having daydreams about Sora a lot lately. He wondered why, but Tai couldn't figure it out. Tai's thoughts were interrupted though, as he and Kari had reached the middle school where Kari attended. "Well, this is where I depart."

"Okay, I'll see you after school."

Kari started walking towards the middle school, while Tai kept heading for the high school. It was a short walk from the middle school. Tai walked up and saw a crowd at the front door to the building. _Great, I have to wade through that... I hope this isn't an omen of whats to come._ He thought. Tai worked his way through the mess at the front door. He got his schedule and read it while he walked down the hallway. While he was reading, he heard a familiar voice call out from behind. It was his friend since childhood, Yamato "Matt" Ishda.

"Well, if it isn't my best tall-haired buddy!" Matt said.

Tai turned around to face Matt. "I could make a lot of jokes about _your_ hair."

Matt coolly ran his hand through his bushy blonde hair. "Your just jealous. I haven't been here but about 20 minutes, and I have already had three girls ask me out. All thanks to the awesome due."

Tai rolled his eyes. "You live your life between your legs, Matt."

"You're just hating on me because I always have a girlfriend, and you never do."

Tai shook his head. "Uh-huh. Well, class starts in a few. Better get going."

"'Kay, see ya later, dude."

The two boys went their separate ways. It turned out that Tai's first class was all the way on the other side of the school. Tai had less than five minutes to get there. 'Just my luck.' he said under his breath. This day was turning out to be a disaster. Tai started running to make it on time. Thanks to his background in soccer, Tai managed to make with only a few seconds to spare.

Tai's day got a little bit better as it went along. Most of the classes, the teacher just discussed class expectations and the material that they were going to be going over. Pretty much, there had been no actual teaching. That was, until Mr. Fujiyama's algebra class. Mr. Fujiyama was the worst math instructor this side of the universe. He gave the most difficult assignments and was so ignorant about how the work was to be done.

Tai sat through Mr. Fujiyama's annoying, boring ramble for the majority of class. Unlike the previous classes, Mr. Fujiyama had given a lesson instead of just going over everything. It seemed as though he was trying his hardest to be rough on the students. At one point, he bitched out a student because he was breathing too loud. Another student got yelled at for tapping his fingers on his desk. Tai couldn't believe how hard he was being on the students. Another student got yelled at for tapping his fingers on his desk. Needless to say, everyone in the room was completely miserable. Things couldn't get much worse. Finally, the bell rang, but the torture wasn't over yet.

"There's the bell," Mr. Fujiyama said as he paced around the room. _Yeah, dummy. What, do you think we're too stupid to know that ourselves or something?_ Tai thought. Mr. Fujiyama slowly walked back to his desk at the front of the room. He picked up a stack of papers and handed them out to the rows of students. "This is you assignment for this week." Mr. Fujiyama finished handing out the assignments and then walked back to his desk and sat down. "It's due on Friday. And when I say it's due on Friday, I mean you had best turn it on on Friday. I do not accept late homework. You want credit for this assignment, you turn it in on time. No credit for late work." A collective groan went around the classroom. Mr. Fujiyama simply ignored the groaning. He put his feet up his desk and sat back in his chair. "Write your work only in no. 2 pencil. If work is turned in written down in anything other than no. 2 pencil, I _will_ count off for that. When you do the problems, write down each and every step. Leave out a step, I will count off for that. And, it hardly needs to be said, but please, write legibly. I will count off for sloppy handwriting. There is nothing more annoying than trying to grade an assignment with sloppy writing." _Oh, I can think of something more annoying... _Mr. Fujiyama sat and tapped his foot for a moment. "I guess that's all for now. Have a nice day. Dismissed." All of the students in the room quickly got out of their seats and got out of the room as fast as they could. Thanks to Mr. Fujiyama keeping that little bit of extra time to go over the assignment, they were probably going to be late to their next class.

_I have never been through a more depressing class..._ Tai thought as he jogged to his next class, which was his last of the day. _I don't see how that guy keeps his job here. Not only did he break the 'first day' rule where you only go over everything and don't teach, he also gave out homework on the first day. That is a _serious _no-no. At least the day is almost over._

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><p>Kari stood at her locker. She hadn't quite gotten it arranged like the wanted for the semester yet. Her books were stacked in the wrong order, she hadn't put her picture of her and Tai up in the door yet. She rushed to get everything in order so she wouldn't be late to her next class. She got to a certain point and then decided that would be good for now. She could finished tomorrow. She closed the door to her locker. She looked up and saw <em>he<em> had been standing behind it, waiting for her to close it. Who was he? Davis. "Hi, Kari..." The way Davis said her name was... creepy, to say the lest.

"Oh, Davis..."

"What's with this, 'oh, Davis' stuff? What, are you not happy to see me or something?"

_NO!_ Kari thought. "It's not that, you just... you know, surprised me."

"Oh, sorry about that." Davis leaned up against the row of lockers and stared up at the celing. "So, how are you liking school so far?"

"It's been pretty good so far."

"Cool."

"So uh, I'll see you after school?"

Kari pretended she didn't hear Davis' question. She walked away as fast as she could. _Ug... I had three classes with that guy last semester. He creeps me out. He acts like he knows everything about me, and he doesn't know the first thing about me. I wish he wouldn't bother me._

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><p>Tai happily exited the school building. He was so glad that he was done with school for the day. He looked out in the parking lot at all the students who had their own cars. Tai couldn't help but envy them. He couldn't wait until he got to start driving. It would only be another year or two, but that was far too long for Tai. Not only would Tai be more independent, if you had your own car, you were in the 'in' crowd. That was for another day, though. Tai continued on his way home. While he walked, he noticed that he had not had a class with Sora, which was odd. They usually had at least three classes together. Tai was sad that he had not gotten to see her today. Suddenly, he heard that old, familiar giggling. That giggle that could only belong to one person; Mimi. Tai looked and saw Mimi walking along talking to non other than Sora.<p>

"Mimi! Sora!" Tai said as he ran up to them.

"Well, hi there, Tai," Mimi cheerfully greeted.

"Hey, Tai," Sora said.

"Some first day, huh?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, I didn't have one of my teachers from last semester. I was disappointed," Mimi said.

"I had Mr. Fujiyama..." Tai said.

"Oh, you poor thing," Sora said. "How are you still alive?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. One guy in class got yelled at for breathing to loud."

Mimi and Sora looked at each other. "Wow, that guy must have been bullied as a child or something," Mimi said.

"I had that loser last year," Sora said. "He was so sure I was going to fail the class. You should have seen the pissed off look he had on his face when I graduated. Lord, that man has the most strict rules of anyone I know."

"Yeah. Prisoners would have more freedom than a student in his class," Tai said. Mimi and Sora laughed.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Mimi said. "Well, I think I am going to go home now."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Mimi," Sora said. Sora gave Mimi a hug before she left.

"Can you believe we didn't have a class together?" Tai asked after Mimi walked away.

"We didn't?" Sora asked. She thought back on the day's events. "Yeah, you're right, we didn't have a class together. How strange."

"I know. We usually have a couple each semester."

"Yeah. That really sucks."

The two teens started walking together. "How were the rest of your classes?" Sora asked.

"Pretty good," Tai replied. "It _was_ just the first day though. I'm sure it will get worse and worse as the semester goes along."

"Why do you always look at school with such disdain?" Sora asked.

"Because, it's school."

"That's not an answer."

"Well..."

"Yes?"

Tai thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. Why don't you hate school?"

"Because, it gives me an opportunity to become smarter. Plus, I get to see my friends."

"Uh-huh..." Tai thought about what Sora said. "I never thought about that before."

"If you would have a more positive outlook on school, you would do better and like it more."

Silence fell between the two friends. Tai suddenly started thinking of his daydream this morning at breakfast. He was still curious why he had imagined the part where Sora kissed him. He only thought of Sora as a friend. The two had been friends for as long as either could remember. In fact, it was Sora who had introduced Tai to soccer when he was young. Tai looked over at Sora. It wasn't until just then that he had noticed just how pretty she really was. Her pretty, bright, red hair. Her eyes. That charming smile.

"Think you're going to survive Mr. Fujiyama's class this year?" Sora asked.

Tai shook his head to try and clear his mind. "I uh... don't know. His class is pretty tough."

"Just remember; when he tries to get to you, ignore him. It makes him so mad if you don't pay attention to him while he's trying to intimidate you. Keep you chin up, and before you know it, the class will be over."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." The two teens walked on in silence for a moment. "Hey, Sora, you wanna come over and play video games for a while?"

Sora stopped walking and put her hand on her chin."Well... I would love to, but mom wants me at the flower shop."

"Ah, man, that sucks."

"Yeah. Don't worry, we can play games later."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, I gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"'Kay. Bye."

The two teens went their separate ways. Tai made his way back to his house. He walked in to find his mother and Kari sitting on the couch watching T.V. "What held you up?" Mrs. Kamiya asked.

"I was talking to Sora."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a crush on her!" Kari teased.

"Do not!" Tai blurted, trying to hide a small blush.

Mrs. Kamiya stared sternly at Tai "Is there something I should know about?"

"Of course not, mom!" Tai said, shaking his hands as he spoke. _At least I don't think so..._

"Okay." Mrs. Kamiya went back to watching her soap opera with Kari. "Oh, you son of a bitch! How dare you cheat on her! How low!" Mrs. Kamiya shouted as she watched. "She loves you with all her heart, and you go and pull a stunt like that! Oh, that makes me mad."

"How typical," Kari said. "One woman just isn't enough. They have to have two or three."

Tai tried his best to ignore girl time in the living room and quickly made his way to his room. "Some first day..." He muttered to himself.

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><p>Good to be back writing once again. I hope you enjoyed that. I worked especially hard on the part with Mr. Fujiyama. I'm sure we've all had a math teacher like that at some point in our lives. Anyway, please R&amp;R. See you next chapter.<p> 


	2. II: Jealousy

Hello again. Thanks for the reviews. You guys are what make this story possible. A character from one of the other Digimon series will make an appearance later in this chapter. Off we go.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

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><p>II: Jealousy<p>

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><p>It was late on Thursday night. Tai sat as his desk feverishly working on the god-awful assignment Mr. Fujiyama had given him at the start of the week. It was was a little after 10 PM, and Tai had yet to finish the assignment. He had time earlier in the week, but he kept putting it off. Now, here he sat, late at night on the day before it was due, the assignment only half done. If Tai was going to finish, it was probably going to be after midnight. <em>Great, I'm never going to finish this, and I'm going to be short on sleep tomorrow.<em> Tai got mad because there was one problem giving him trouble. He threw his pencil down in anger and leaned back in his chair. He held his hands over his face. He was starting to sweat. It felt like about 1,000 degrees in his room. Tai cursed Mr. Fujiyama under his breath. He wondered how he was going to ever finish this thing in a reasonable amount of time. Suddenly, a thought came to Tai. He should call Izzy. Izzy knew all about science and math. He could help Tai finish the assignment. Tai found his cell phone and selected Izzy's number off his contacts list. "Please, oh please, pick up the phone!"

_'Hello...'_ Izzy's groggy voice came over the speaker. Tai was never more relieved in his life.

"Izzy! Good, you're still awake. It's Tai. I need your help with a math assignment."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. _'Tai, you _do_ realize how late it is, right?'_

"Izzy, please, this is a matter of life and death! I have to have your help."

_'Let me guess, you blew off your assignment until just now, and you don't know how to do it, and you need it done really fast. Am I right?'_

"Uh-huh," was all that Tai said in response.

_'Not to be rude or anything, but that's on you, buddy. If you had done your work when you were supposed to...'_

Tai almost wanted to cry. "Izzy! How can you do this to me!" Tai could have swore he heard faint chuckling over the phone. "Are you laughing at me?"

_'The connection must be breaking up. Listen, Tai, I can't help you right now. Why don't you call Sora and see if she is still up. She is pretty good at math. Maybe she can help you.' _Izzy yawned after he spoke.

"Okay, I guess I will give that a try. But I'm gonna remember this when you need my help next time." Tai got no reply, as Izzy hung up without saying another word. "After all I have done for him, you think he could help me out just this once..." Tai found Sora's number in his contacts list. He prayed that she was still up.

_'Tai, is there something wrong?' _Sora said as she answered the phone.

"Soraaaaa! You gotta help me! I-"

_'Whoa, Tai, no so loud! You're giving me a headache.'_

Tai took a deep breath to try and calm down. "Okay... I need your help. I have to do this damned assignment Mr. Fujiyama gave me."

_'You mean to tell me you put that off until just now?' _Sora asked, genuinely shocked. It wasn't uncommon for Tai to put things off, but to let his math homework go until the last possible minute wasn't like him.

"Yeah, I know, I should have managed my time better. Sora, please, I am **begging** you. I have to turn this in to Mr. I-Know-Everything tomorrow, and I don't have it finished."

Sora sighed on the other side of the line. _'Okay, I'll be right there.'_

Tai breathed a huge sigh of relief. "God bless you, Sora."

Sora's house was just down the street from Tai's, so it didn't take her long to reach him. Tai eagerly let her inside and showed her what he was working on. "Uh, Tai, seriously?" she said after looking at the work Tai was assigned.

"What?"

"You seriously can't do factoring? That's like, one of the easiest, if not the easiest things in math."

"For you maybe!"

Sora shook her head in disbelief. "You never cease to amaze." Sora sat down and started tutoring Tai.

"Oh, I think I get it now," Tai said.

"Like I said earlier, factoring is really easy."

After a few minutes, the two of them had the assignment completed. It had not quite made it to 11 yet, either. "You're a lifesaver, Sora. Have I told you lately that I love you?"

Sora giggled. "You're lucky I was still awake."

"Speaking of which, why were you still awake?"

Sora looked away from Tai. "That's... none of your business."

Tai tilted his head to the side. "Are you trying to hide something?"

Sora sighed. "Well... truth be told... I was catching up on a school project of my own that I... put off until the last minute..."

"Aha! My, how the tables have turned!" Tai started to laugh.

"Hey, it's not funny!" Sora said, somewhat hurt. Slowly though, she couldn't stop herself. She started to laugh as well.

"Sorry..." Tai said as he tried to catch his breath from laughing hard. "It's just, I've never known you to put work off like that before."

Sora scratched the back of her head. "Well, I guess we all do it some time or another." She got up and stretched. "Well, it's getting late. I had better call it a night."

Tai got up as well and walked her to the door. "Hey, that math assignment was a real killer for me. I need to recharge over the weekend. You wanna play some soccer on Saturday?"

Sora thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, why not?"

"Cool! Meet me at the field in the park at noon."

"You got it."

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><p>Tai walked out of Mr. Fujiyama's math class, assignment in hand. Thanks to Sora's tutoring, he had done pretty well on it. Mr. Fujiyama couldn't believe it. He had his sights set on bitching at Tai. The only bad thing was Tai now had another dang assignment to turn in next week. That didn't slow him down, though. His last class passed by pretty quickly, and he merrily exited the school building. Now, he could look forward to playing soccer with Sora. Tai saw her walking home. He ran to catch up to her. "Sora!"<p>

Sora turned to face Tai. "Tai! Hey there."

"Take a look at my assignment you helped me with last night."

Sora took the paper from Tai and looked it over as they walked together. "Wow, you did pretty good."

"I know. And it's all thanks to you."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad I was able to help."

"Looking forward to Soccer tomorrow?"

"Yeah, about that-"

"Cool, I'll see you tomorrow." Tai walked away before Sora could say anything else. All Tai could think of was getting on that field and relieving all that stress built up from the annoying assignment. Tai didn't even stop to consider that Sora was trying to tell him something before he walked away.

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><p>Tai's eyes flickered as he slowly woke up. He sat up in his bed and looked over at the clock. He had slept until 10 in the morning. He eagerly got out of bed and changed out of his pajamas and into his street clothes. He went into the kitchen and got some breakfast. Then he went and got his soccer ball from his room. "You going to play soccer?" Tai's mom asked as he was about to walk out the door.<p>

"Yeah, I'm going to meet Sora at the soccer field in the park."

"Okay, have fun."

Tai jogged over to the park. He noticed Sora wasn't there so he looked at his watch. He was a few minutes early. Sora was going to be surprised. For some reason Tai couldn't explain, he was excited that he was about to see Sora. He just couldn't wait to see her. Tai practiced some while he waited for Sora to arrive. "Tai," he could hear her say from behind. Tai turned to see her.

"Hey So...ra..." She wasn't alone. A boy was with her.

"Tai, this is Kouji Minamoto. He and I go to science class together." Kouji was your typical 'lone wolf' type. He never said all that much. He simply waved at Tai instead of saying hello.

"Why is he here?" Tai asked.

"Well, you see... I'm sort of, you know, dating him..."

Tai's heart sank low when he heard this. "Oh... I see."

"I was trying to tell you yesterday after school that he wanted to play soccer, too."

"Is that a fact?" Tai couldn't explain why, but he felt like he had been betrayed.

"Yeah. You walked off before I could tell you."

"Oh. Well, this game isn't going to play itself. Let's get cracking." Tai was being very short with the two.

"What, the two of us against you?"

"I've had tougher opponents." Tai seemed to emphasize the word 'opponents.' He was extremely jealous.

The three teens walked to the center of the field. "Okay, Tai, I'm thinking of a number between 10 and 20."

"18," Tai said.

"How do you do that every time? Okay, you get to go first. We'll go by the usual rules; first one to five points wins."

Tai ran and kicked the ball. He ran towards the net in front of him. He ran past Sora, but Kouji managed to get in front of him. Tai tried to make a quick move to one side or the other to lose Kouji, but Kouji managed to stay right in Tai's path. Tai kicked the ball up and hit it off his head. The ball flew in a high arc and almost went into the net, but stopped just short. Kouji sped up and got the ball and started running for the opposite goal. Tai ran hard, but couldn't catch up. It made him mad. To make matters worse, Sora started blocking Tai. He turned on the jets and went past Sora. He was about to steal the ball away from Kouji, but he was too late. Kouji kicked the ball hard and sent it straight into the net. Tai stopped and punched the ground in anger. He couldn't believe this was happening. How did he go from trying to have a friendly game of soccer with Sora to having this guy here? Tai's blood started to boil. "Man, you're fast..." Tai told Kouji.

"...Thanks..." was all that Kouji said. It was the first thing he had said since he had gotten there.

_Man, and I thought Matt used to be a loner..._

The game continued. It went the same as it had before. Tai had a hard time with it being two against one. Kouji was a little faster than Tai, which was previously thought to be impossible. Sora repeatedly prevented Tai from getting to Kouji. Suddenly, Tai found himself down 3-0. If he gave up two more points, he would lose. Not only would it hurt Tai's pride, to lose to _that_ guy would have been beyond a disgrace. Finally, Tai came up with a score. It was now 3-1 in favor of Sora and Kouji.

"Good shot Tai," Sora said after Tai scored. Tai didn't even pay attention to her. He was still hurt.

The game resumed, and Sora and Kouji's strategy worked again, only this time, Sora was the one to score. The score was now 4-1 in favor of Sora and Kouji. Tai dug deep, and somehow managed to find another gear. He finally managed to outrun Kouji, and stole the ball from him. Using his new-found speed, Tai got way ahead of Sora and Kouji, and kicked an easy score. That got it to 4-2. Tai fell down after he kicked the goal. Running that fast really took its toll on Tai.

"I have never seen you run that fast before," Sora told Tai. All he did was simply look at her. He was too tired from running to talk. Plus there was his bitterness.

Tai finally managed to get up after several minutes. Sora had the ball to start. Tai took a few seconds to get up to top speed, but he eventually overtook Sora and stole the ball away. Kouji ran up and made a couple of attempts to steal the ball from Tai, but Tai made some fancy jukes and kept the ball in his possession. Tai faked a kick to the net, which Kouji fell for. Tai took advantage of this trick and kicked another goal. "And that... makes it... 4-3..." Tai uttered between breaths.

"Crud," Sora said. "We gotta wrap this thing up," She told Kouji. He simply nodded.

Tai's new-found speed paid off again, as he outran both Sora and Kouji again, and scored yet again. "There's 4-4," Tai said right after he scored.

"I sure underestimated you," Kouji said.

_Wow, he said something. Yeah, you dirty, rotten friend stealer, next time you think before you try and steal away one of my friends._

When the game resumed again, Kouji got way out in front of Tai, who was far too tired to keep up. Kouji got lax when he saw how far behind Tai was. As he drew near to the net, Kouji slowed to a snail's pace so he could line up a shot. Even though he was bone tired, Tai quickly caught up with Kouji. Tai dived right as Kouji attempted the shot to win the game. Tai managed to get a hand on the ball and alter its flight path. Just like before with Tai's shot, the ball landed short of the net. Kouji was shocked that he missed and just stood there for a minute. Tai got right up, and got the ball. Finally, Kouji snapped to his senses and tried to get in Tai's way, but he was too late. Re-inspired by his game-saving block of Kouji's kick, Tai turned on the jets again. Sora tried to block him, but she was far too slow. Tai thought about being macho and taking a risky shot from a distance, but thought better of it. He did, however, get up really close to the net and slow way down. He looked back at Sora and Kouji running to try and catch up and stuck his tongue out at them and then kicked the ball into the net.

"Game. Set. Match, baby!" Tai dropped to his knees. "And the... crowd goes... wild!" Tai said as he tried to catch his breath. He made fake crowd noises.

"Wow, what an amazing comeback," Sora said,

"You got overconfident when you got that big lead," Tai said. He was speaking more to Sora than he was to Kouji. Sora managed to pick up on this a little bit. It hurt her feelings a little. Tai got up and got his soccer ball out of the net. "Catch you later." Tai jogged away in the direction of his house. He didn't stay to talk to Sora. He really didn't care about anything she had to say right now.

"He left kinda abrupt, huh?" Kouji said to Sora.

Sora thought about what to say for second. "He's just tired." Sora somewhat wondered why she defended Tai. He was really rude back there.

"Yeah, well... all those stories you told me about him being legendary at soccer were true."

"Yeah..."

Tai walked home breathing very hard. His lungs felt like they were on fire. But the burning in his lungs could never match the fire in his eyes. He was straight up pissed off at Sora. She gets a boyfriend, and doesn't even bother to tell him? Even worse, she brought _that_ guy with her to the soccer game that was supposed to between just the two of _them,_ nobody else. Tai got back home and walked inside. His mom asked if he had fun. Tai didn't answer, but just nodded, even though he hated every minute he had been on that soccer field. Tai walked in his room and threw his soccer ball down. His skin was covered in dried up sweat. Tai walked into the bathroom and started up the shower. The hot water felt to good on his skin on his sore muscles. Tai got out of the shower and got dressed. He went into his room and did something he never would have under normal circumstances; he went and did his homework right then and there instead of putting it off until the last minute. He had finished all his work by nightfall. Tai sat back in his seat and ran his hands over his face. He was hoping that doing his homework would get his mind off of _her, _but it hadn't. Tai began to wonder why he had acted the way he did. If Sora wanted to have a boyfriend, then fine and dandy. Why had he been so jealous? Although, Sora should have told Tai about... whatever his name was. Then Tai remembered that Sora has tried to tell him about it after school the previous day. Tai started to feel guilty about the way he had acted. He felt so bad. Tai took a glance over at his cell phone. He considered calling her, but decided not to. He thought he would just sweep the whole thing under the rug. Tai looked at the clock. It was barely after eight o'clock. Despite that, Tai crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

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><p>Has there ever been a fanfic where Sora was paired with Kouji? What did you think of that? When I originally was coming up with the plot line for this, I was going to have Sora go out with Matt, but I opted out of that because it's been done so many times. By the way, I don't know that much about soccer, so I'm sorry if I got something wrong in the soccer game. Anyway, please, hit that little review button over there. On a separate note, I've been thinking of doing a remake of my breakthrough story <em>Ghosts of Years Past.<em> Go to my profile and vote in the poll and tell me if you would like a remake. Thanks! See you in chapter III!


	3. III: Bullies Are Bad

Hi, all. What did you think of the Sora/Kouji paring? Different, huh? Thanks for your reviews. This chapter is going to be drama city. I hope you like it. Here's chapter III

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

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><p>III: Bullies Are Bad<p>

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><p>"Ugh, she's late yet again..." Sora groaned. She was sitting at the food court in the mall. It was Sunday, and she and Mimi had planned to go shopping. "I love Mimi and all, but some times, she is such a ditz." Mimi wasn't really known for being timely. Sora wondered how Mimi was always on time to school.<p>

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Sora could hear Mimi say in the distance. Sora looked over and saw that Mimi had tripped over somebody's foot. Sora stifled a laugh. "Hi, Sora!" Mimi walked up and sat down at the table with Sora.

"You're late."

Mimi scratched the back of her head. "He he... Sorry. I couldn't decide what to wear."

"Well, you ready to shop?"

"You better believe it, girl!"

The two girls got up and went all around the mall. Before long, they had a bunch of paper shopping bags with them. "Oh, look at how pretty that dress is, Sora!" Mimi said as she looked through the window of a store they walked by.

"It sure is pretty."

"You should buy it."

"I have already about blown my allowance as it is!"

"So? Ask your daddy for a raise."

"Nah. I'm not much for dresses anyway."

The two teens went back to the food court to get something to eat. Mimi started to notice Sora was acting a little distant. "So, I hear you have a... BOYFRIEND!"

"I thought I already told you."

"No, of course not. Never tell poor, little ole me anything important! That's okay!" Mimi crossed her arms and looked away.

"Oh, come on, Mimi! I tell you everything!"

Mimi laughed. "Yeah, but you broke all the rules. When you get a boyfriend, you have to tell all of your closest friends."

Sora sipped on her soda. "Oh, okay. I'll have to keep that in mind."

"So..."

Sora stared at Mimi. "So... what?"

"What's his name!" Mimi started to get mad.

"His name is Kouji. Kouji Minamoto."

"Oh, that guy is _so_ steaming hot! Wow, you got yourself a good one."

"Yeah. He doesn't say much, though."

"That's a good thing. That means that he might, oh, I don't know, actually, like, listen to you instead of talking over you all the time."

Sora giggled. "You have a point there."

"I bet there are hearts breaking since you're off the market now."

Sora gave Mimi 'the look.' "What _are_ you talking about?"

Mimi sighed. "Oh, Sora, someday you will realize just what a good catch you would be."

Sora rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Mimi went on a rant about what was going on her life. She didn't give Sora a chance to get a word in. All Sora could do was constantly nod. At one point, she had nodded so many times that it gave her a headache. During the rant, Mimi started to notice that Sora was becoming distant again. "Something bothering you?" Sora didn't answer. She just looked around the food court, people watching. "Sora?"

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"There's something bothering you, isn't there?"

"What makes you say that?" Sora said, shocked.

"I dunno, you're not as peppy as you usually are."

"I'm not?"

"No, you've been kinda... what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Disconnected?"

"Oh, I remember! Ookie!"

Sora tilted her head to the side. "Mimi, that's not even a word."

"Of course it is! What planet do you live on!"

"...Never mind."

"Okay But you still haven't told me what's bothering you."

Sora started to get irritated with Mimi's nagging. "Nothing. Can we please change the subject?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that you're sure?"

"Mimi!"

"Sorry. It's just, you're like the sister I never had. I love you. I'm worried about you."

Sora was touched. "Oh, thanks Mimi. I love you too. But trust me, nothing is bothering me." The two of them hugged. _That's not true at all. The rude way Tai acted at the soccer game is still bothering me._ Sora thought. She considered telling Mimi, but decided not to. This was her problem. She would handle it on her own.

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><p>It was Monday morning. Tai had overslept and had to run to try and make to school on time. He got inside the building and darted through the building. He made it to his class with not another second to spare. He sat down at his desk and tried to catch his breath. The rest of the day went like that for Tai. It seemed he had to rush everywhere he went. Finally, it was time for lunch. Tai got some of the slop the cafeteria was serving and found himself a table. "Watch it, geek!" Tai heard. He looked over and saw Izzy being bullied.<p>

"Wha- what did I do?" Izzy asked.

"You stepped on my foot, you bookworm."

Tai quickly got up out his seat and ran over to help Izzy. "Back off, butthead!"

The bully looked over at Tai. "Well, well. If it ain't the school soccer hero."

Tai glared at the bully. "Leave him alone!"

The bully let go of Izzy, making him fall, his trey falling on him and messing his clothes up. "Okay. I think I'll kill you instead."

"So sure that's a good idea?"

"I think it's a great idea." The eyes of the whole cafeteria were suddenly on Tai and the bully. The bully reached out to grab Tai by the shirt, but Tai dodged him. The bully tried to punch Tai, but he ducked underneath the punch. Tai got down and kicked the bully in the crotch. The bully hunched over in pain. Tai quickly got back to his feet.

"Smile, bitch!" Tai faked another kick for the crotch. The bully got scared and hightailed it out of the cafeteria. The rest of the cafeteria erupted in cheers when they saw the dreaded bully run away. Tai felt his mouth form a small grin. He walked over to Izzy and helped him up get back up. "You okay, Izzy?"

"Yeah..." Izzy said as he dusted himself off. "Thanks, Tai. I really owe you one."

"Yeah. Don't mention it. That moron and I have some history."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's not the first time I've kicked his butt."

"Wow. Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Sure."

Izzy went and got another trey of food and then sat down at Tai's table. "You realize you're going to get in trouble for that, right? You don't beat up a bully in this school. They always get away with everything."

"Not if you back me up."

"You got it! Heck, I'll even help you with your homework for a month since you saved my butt back there."

Tai donned an evil look. "Oh, a homework slave for an entire month..."

"What have I gotten myself into this time...?"

"Don't worry," Tai laughed. "I won't work you to death..." Tai paused for a moment "too much..." Izzy gave Tai 'the look.'

The two boys finished eating and then went to their next class.

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><p>Meanwhile at the middle school, Kari was also at lunch. She had been eating with her friends, but they had to leave. Kari was alone now. She only had a few minutes and then she would have to go to her next class. "Well, if it isn't my favorite girl in the whole school!" somebody called out from behind Kari. She turned around and saw the last person she wanted to see; Davis.<p>

"Oh, Davis. Hi."

"'Sup?"

"Not much. I was just about to leave."

"Leave? Why?"

"Uh, I have classes I have to get to."

"Oh, right."

Kari got up and walked over the trashcan to get rid of her trash and drop her trey off. Davis followed her every step of the way, babbling in her ear about mostly nothing. _Why did _he _have to show up for?_ She thought.

"...And then I told her-"

"Gee, Davis, that's really interesting." Kari's tone of voice was quite harsh. "I have to go or I'm going to be late to class."

Davis walked in front of Kari and blocked her. "You got time."

"Uh, actually, I don't. If you'll excuse me..." Kari tried to walk around Davis, but he put his arm up and blocked her.

"Nobody said you could leave."

Kari's patience was beginning to get very thin. "Davis, I said I have to go."

"And I said you can spare a minute or two."

"Are you causing trouble again?" Tk said as he walked up.

"I don't see how it's any of _your_ business, Rt! Get lost!"

"Make me, dope head! And it's **Tk**!"

"Hey, I'm trying to court my girl here. Back off!"

"Excuse me, but she's not 'your girl.' Why don't you just leave her alone!"

Sensing that a fight was about to start, Kari tried to escape. Thanks to Tk distracting Davis, she had a clear path out of the cafeteria. She quietly but quickly made her way over to the exit. "Bye, guys," she called as she walked out the door.

"Huh? Were you goin'?" Davis became enraged when he saw Kari leave.

"Later chump," Tk said as he also walked away from Davis.

"Wha- yeah, run away, ya coward! I deal with you later!" Davis looked, but Kari was long gone. "Damn that Ta or whatever the hell his name was. I get him for this. Count on it." Davis had fire burning in his eyes.

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><p>Tai was sitting at his desk in Mr. Fujiyama's class. Like usual, students got yelled at for insignificant things. It made Tai sick. He really wished that he wasn't here right now.<p>

"Okay, gentlemen, and I use the term lightly, it's time for a pop quiz. Put away all of your books. You have five minutes. I had better _not_ hear any whispering.

_Great..._ Tai thought as Mr. Fujiyama handed him a copy of the quiz.

_'Tai Kamiya, please report to the principal's office.'_ Tai suddenly heard over the PA system.

_Uh-oh. They must have caught word of my handy work with that bully. Ah well. At least I don't have to put up with this sorry pop quiz right now._

"Come right back," Mr. Fujiyama's told Tai as he was on his way out of the classroom. "I'll have to keep you after school so you can take the quiz. Tai rolled his eyes as he walked out the door. _Moron..._

Tai took his time making his way to the principal's office. There was nobody in the hall to bother him except for the janitor. Nobody could tell him to hurry up. The longer he took here, the less time he would have to waste in that idiot's math class. Maybe he would even miss the rest of class. Then he could say that he forgot to report back to Fujiyama for that dang quiz. Tai opened the door the the principal's office. "Kamiya?" the principal's secretary asked when he walked in.

"...Yeah..."

"Go on in." She had a bitter tone to her voice from dealing with snot-nosed brats and trouble makers for a number of years.

Tai grabbed the doorknob to the principal's office. He took a deep breath and then opened the door and walked in. He looked and saw the jerk whose ass he kicked from before sitting at the principal's desk. "Come in, Mr. Kamiya," The principal said.

Tai reluctantly sat down in the other chair at the desk. "What's the problem, sir?" Tai asked innocently.

"It has come to my attention that this poor fellow here was attacked... by you."

Tai was about to say something in his defense, when the door suddenly opened. It was Izzy. "Excuse me, can I help you?" The principal asked.

"Yes sir. I came to tell the truth about the fight earlier. This guy," Izzy pointed at the bully, "got peeved off because I stepped on his foot. He was threatening to hurt me because of it. Mr. Kamiya here came to my rescue. That's the complete and total truth."

The principal gave the bully a stern stare. "Is this true?"

"I-I uh... I-I-"

"Answer the question!"

"I told you, this jackwagon beat me up!"

"Sir, that is a complete lie!" Izzy said. "I was there. I saw the whole thing. The rest of the kids in the cafeteria did as well. Ask them, and they will all tell you the exact same thing. Poor Tai has been falsely accused."

The principal looked over to Tai. "Is that a fact?"

"...Yes sir..."

The principal slammed his fist down on the desk. "That does it! Three times in this brief semester you have already been here in my office. Every time, you have whined to me about being beat up. I see now it was _you_ who was the one beating the others up! You are hereby expelled!"

The bully had a shocked expression on his face. "But-"

"Out!"

The bully looked from the principal over to Tai. He jumped up out of his chair and jumped on top of Tai. "You! You're going to pay for this!"

Tai drew his arm back and punched the bully in the jaw as hard as he could. The bully held his jaw where Tai had punched him. Tai pushed the bully off of him and threw him on the floor. Tai grabbed the bully by his shirt and looked him straight in the eye. "You were good, son. Real good. But as long as I'm around, you'll always be second best." Tai drew his arm back for another punch. The bully put his arms in front of himself. Tai donned an evil smile and let go of him and walked away. "C'mon, Izzy, let's get out of here. This little punk isn't worth the effort." Izzy followed Tai as he walked out the door.

The principal got up from behind his desk and walked over to the bully on the floor. He looked down on him. "That right there was assault, young man. You're going to juvenile hall!" The bully's eyes got very big.

Outside, Tai and Izzy listened through the door at the the tongue lashing the bully was receiving right now. They quietly laughed and walked away. "Wow, Izzy, you're a lifesaver. Lord knows what would have happened to me if you hadn't barged in there."

"Hey, what are friends for, right? You saved my ass, and I saved yours."

Tai and Izzy slapped fists. "You know, Izzy, for a computer geek, you're pretty cool.

"Aw, shucks, you're making me blush."

The bell then rang, indicating the end of the current class period. "Awesome, I get that loser kicked out of school, and I get to miss the rest of Mr. Fujiyama's math class. Can this day get any better?"

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><p>Tai left the school for the day. Unfortunately, he had to go back and take the quiz in Fujiyama's class, so he was just a little late leaving. Tai started making his way home. On the way he passed the middle school. To his surprise, Kari was outside waiting for him. Even more surprising, she was crying. "Kari?"<p>

She looked up at Tai. "Oh Tai! It's terrible!" Kari jumped up and hugged Tai very tight.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Tk..."

"What, did you catch him kissing another girl?" Tai joked.

"No! He and Davis got in a fight after school. Davis did some fast-talking and got off and made Tk take the fall. He has study hall for the next two weeks."

"Davis? Isn't he the one you told me kept trying to come on to you?"

"Yes. He's such a jerk! I can't believe he would do this!"

Suddenly, Tk emerged from the building. He had his head hung low. "Tk!" Kari called out. She ran up to him to see if he was okay.

"Hey, Kari..." Tk said weakly. He had a black eye and his cheek was bruised.

"Oh, you poor thing."

Tai walked up and said, "What happened?"

Tk took a deep breath before he started explaining."Well, it all started during lunch today. Kari was having lunch with her friends in the cafeteria. Her friends left, and she was all alone. So then, Mr. Paragon walked up to her and started to harass her. Kari tired to get up and leave, but he just refused to let her. I saw what was going on, and tired to stop 'im. Davis and I exchanged words. We called each other some names. While Davis was distracted with me, Kari took advantage of the situation and slipped out of the cafeteria. He got really mad at me because I wouldn't let him harass poor Kari. Then, after school let out for the day, I was just innocently making my way out of the building. He ran up from behind me and hit me on the head. I fought back, and I think I was winning. But then the adults showed up. They broke the fight up. I was about to tell them that he had jumped me while I wasn't looking, but before I could say a word, Davis started to run his mouth. He told them that _I_ had attacked _him._ Before I even got a chance to tell my side of the story, they started dragging me to study hall."

Tai shook his head in disgust. "That was really low."

"It's not fair!" Kari said.

"Why didn't you try to tell somebody?" Tai asked Tk.

"What's the point. Davis is the golden boy around here. I would just be wasting my breath."

"Oh, Tk, I'm sorry," Kari said.

"It's not your fault," Tk replied.

"Don't worry, Tk, I _will_ get this thing resolved," Tai said. "This Davis guy **will not** get away with what he has done."

Tk suddenly felt his confidence swell. He couldn't help but smile. "Gee... thanks, Tai."

"Why are you doing this?" Kari asked her brother.

"Because, Tk is a part of the family as far as I'm concerned. His brother and I are like that." Tai crossed his fingers on his right hand to show how close he and Matt were. "Besides that, this guy stepped over the line when he got too friendly with _my_ sister. I gonna teach him a lesson! Tomorrow morning, your brother and I are coming up here to speak with the principal, and we're going to get you out of study hall."

"Oh, Tai, you're the best," Kari said.

"Gee, Tai, I can't thank you enough. I owe you one."

"C'mon. My mom can patch you up, Tk."

"Okay." With that, the three of them left.


	4. IV: For The Record

I'm baaaack! Hope you are having a lovely day. Thank you for your reviews. The name of this chapter is a reference to Modern Warfare 2. Here's Chapter IV.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Also, there will be a reference to a social networking site in this chapter. I don't own that, either.

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><p>IV: For the Record<p>

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><p>For once, Tai was actually up early. He was on a mission; he had to set the record straight for Tk, who had been falsely accused for a fight with Davis. Tai got up early and got a fast shower and chomped his breakfast down quickly. He got his cell phone out and dialed Matt. "Hey, Matt, are ya up?"<p>

_'Yeah. I wouldn't be talking to you I were asleep now, would I?_

"Oh, ha ha, very funny. But let's get down to business. Meet me down at the middle school in about 10 minutes. We need to get in there, straighten things out with Tk, and get over to school, or we will be late."

_'10 minutes. You got it.'_

"Great, I'll see you in a few." Tai slapped his phone shut and grabbed his backpack. He walked over to Kari's room. "Let's go, we gotta get this thing with Tk worked out."

"Coming!"

The two siblings made their way out of the house and headed for the middle school. "Tk said he was going to meet us in the principal's office."

"Good, he can finally tell his side of the story and maybe that will get this thing fixed."

The two walked in silence for a moment. "So, what was this I read on Facebook last night about you beating up a bully?"

_Dang Facebook! I wanted to keep that ordeal from yesterday a secret. _"Well... it's like this..." Tai went on to tell Kari all about yesterday with the bully and going to the principal's office at his school. "So then, the principal figures out that the bully is just that, a bully, and expels the guy."

"Wow, Tai! I never knew you were so brave."

"It wasn't me being brave. I hate bullies. That's all. Plus, you don't mess with my friends or family. That idiot from yesterday found out the hard way. And now this Davis guy is going to find out."

The two of them arrived at the middle school. Matt and Tk were there waiting for them at the front door. "Good, you're here," Matt said. "You think we can get his dentition reversed?"

"We're going to try damn hard," Tai replied.

The four of them walked inside and made their way over to the principal's office. "Can I help you?" asked the principal's secretary.

"Yes, we need to speak to the principal about something. May we go in and see him?" Tai asked.

"And why exactly do you need to see the principal? Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no. You see-"

"My brother here was put in study hall for no reason and we need to straighten things out," Matt said.

"I'm sorry, but things like being given study hall are not up for discussion or debate."

Matt clenched his fist. "You don't understand, my little brother was the victim of a scheme. He got study hall for the next two weeks for something he didn't even do! Now let us talk to the principal so we can explain it to him."

"Sir, the attitude isn't going to help. As I said, study hall-"

"Please, ma'am," Tai said. "Little Tk here is like the little brother I never had. It breaks my heart to see him this way." Tai worked up some fake tears to try and fake out the secretary. "He was accused of doing something he didn't do." Tai sobbed between sentences. "You have to let us in to talk to the principal. Study hall is no place for a little angel like Tk."

Tk put on his best puppy dog face. He put his hands behind his back and stuck his bottom lip out. The secretary sighed. "Okay..." she finally relented. "He's through that door over there. Please make it brief."

Tai looked away from the secretary, and evil, ear to ear grin on his face. He couldn't believe he had just pulled that off. The four friends walked over to the door to the principal's office and walked in. The principal looked up them, a scowl on his face. Tai and the others could tell, he was going to be much harder to get through to than his secretary. "What do you want?" His voice was icy and unfriendly.

"Er, uh... you see..." Tai stammered.

"Out with it! This is a school, not an arcade. Get on with it."

Tai gulped. This wasn't going to be easy. "Mr. Takaishi here," Tai pointed over to Tk, "Was involved in a fight yesterday after school."

The principal looked at Tk. "Oh, yes, that troublemaker. What about it? Let me guess, it wasn't his fault. I'm sorry, but if you came here to get him out of study hall, you're wasting your time! If there's nothing else, please leave. I have other, more important matters to attend to."

Matt started growling. "Now what just a darn minute! My little brother is _not_ a troublemaker! He was the one who got attacked, not that other guy! Now you stop making him go to study hall!"

"Yelling at me isn't going to get his study hall sentence removed. And you're in no position to tell me what to do. Mess with me, and your little brother will get even _more_ time in study hall. And one other thing; there is no evidence to support you claim. There were no witnesses to the fight. They were away from any of the cameras, so there is no way to determine who started the fight. Now get out!"

Matt got even angrier. He was about to charge the principal, but Tai stepped in front of him. 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, Matt,' Tai whispered.

'Didn't you just hear what that guy said about Tk?' Matt whispered back.

'I know, it's not right, but getting angry and shouting at people is only going to make things worse. Let's try to play it cool.' Matt huffed. He didn't agree with Tai, but he was willing to go along with this for now.

"Ahem! Will there be anything else!" the principal said, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Sir, you only listened to one side of the story. You never listened to Tk's side. His version is very different."

"Of course it is! The offender always tells a different version so he doesn't have to take the fall."

Tai crossed his arms and tried to think of what to say next. "Will you at least hear his side of the story? It wouldn't really be fair if you didn't."

The principal sighed. "Okay then, for the sake of being fair, let's hear what you have to say, son."

Tk stepped forward. He was nervous. He looked over a Kari. He then looked back at the principal and took a deep breath. "Well, sir, Mr. Motomiya was harassing Mrs. Kamiya in the cafeteria during lunch yesterday. I tried to defend her from him. He got mad and started yelling at me. While he was distracted with me, Mrs. Kamiya left the cafeteria without him knowing. He got very angry with me because of that. Later on he ran up from behind me and started attacking me. Some of the faculty came and broke up the fight. He lied and said that he was the one who was sneak-attacked."

"...And..." The principal said impatiently.

"That's it, sir."

"That's a load of crap! Mr. Motomiya is one of our best students here at the school. He would never do something like what you just described!"

Kari stepped forward. "He's telling the truth!"

"The absolute truth," Matt said.

"Yeah, _Tk_ was the victim, not Da- er, Mr. Motomiya," Tai said. "If we all back up what he's saying, doesn't that mean he's telling the truth?"

"Give me one reason to believe why Mr. Motomiya would go around picking fights," The principal replied.

Tai could see Matt's blood was starting to boil. "Kari, he did harass you, right?"

"Yes! I tried to leave, and he walked in front of me and forced me to talk to him!"

The principal was not pleased. "I need proof. How do I know you didn't just make all of this up to victimize Mr. Motomiya?"

"Why would _we_ want to do that!" Matt asked. "I don't even know the guy! Tai doesn't even know him! Tk just ignores him, and Kari tries to avoid him! There's no reason for us to try and frame him."

"I still need proof."

Matt was about to bull rush the principal, but Tai stopped him.

"How about this; you go around and ask students in the school who know Tk and Davis if they think Tk would attack Davis with no warning. If they all say no, then you'll know that he's telling the truth. How does that sound?"

The principal clasped his hands and twiddled his thumbs. "If I say yes, will you leave my office right now?"

"Only if you promise to do it."

"Okay, I agree! I'll have the faculty ask the students. Now please, I have important matters to take care of. So if you'll be so kind as to leave."

Tai saluted the principal. "Thank you for all of your cooperation, sir. You're a gentleman and a scholar." The principal didn't reply, and Tai led the others back out to the hallway.

"Wow, Tai, that was some good acting with the secretary!" Tk said.

"Forget the secretary, what about the way manipulated that principal?" Matt said.

Tai scratched the back of his head "Aw, shucks, you're making me blush."

"Thank you so much, Tai," Tk said. "You really helped me out."

"It's not over yet. But I'm sure the rest of the school hates that guy. I'm confident that most of the students here will say you wouldn't attack the guy."

"Still, I can't thank you enough. Because of you, Davis might not be the faculty's pet anymore."

"Yeah, well, you know, what are friends for? Remember that. I may need your help in the future."

"You can count on it!"

"You can count on me, too," Matt said. "Thanks, bro." Tai and Matt slapped fists, then Tai and Tk.

"So, Tai," Kari said. "Have you ever pulled that sad acting stunt with mom before?"

Tai's cheeks started turning red. "I... uh... O-of course not! That would be dishonest!"

"What you pulled with the secretary was dishonest, too."

"That was different! Tk needed my help! Besides, he was falsely accused and... and..."

Kari giggled. "Relax, I'm just teasing!" Kari, Matt, and Tk all erupted in laughter.

"Hey, it's not funny!"

"When Mr. Suck Up, I mean, Davis, finds out about this, he is going to be completely furious," Tk said. "I hope he doesn't cause anymore trouble."

"Don't worry about him," Matt said. "Don't even think about him. Ignore him, and he'll go away."

"I hope you're right."

Suddenly, the hallway filled with students. "Oh, school is starting," Tai said.

"Yeah, we had better get over to our school, or we're going to be late."

"Bye, Kari!" Tai said as he gave her a hug.

"Remember, Tk, just ignore Davis," Matt said.

"I'll try."

Tai and Matt worked their way through the crowded hallway and out of the building. "Race you!" Tai told Matt and then suddenly took off running without giving Matt a chance to get ready.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Matt started chasing after Tai.

* * *

><p>Sora sat patiently in science class. At the start of semester, this class was every interesting to her. She was learning a lot of things she didn't know before. But now, they were going over subjects she didn't care for. She wished this class would hurry up and finish. The lone bright spot was this was one of two classes she had with Kouji. Towards the end of class, she and Kouji started exchanging notes while the teacher wasn't looking. It was in this class that Kouji asked Sora out. Sora liked Kouji, but she wished he would talk some more, despite what Mimi said. At times, Sora felt like she was in the relationship alone because of how quiet Kouji was. Still, she was happy. That was all that mattered. Sora really wished this class would hurry up and end. She really wanted for the day at school to end because she and Kouji had a date after school, their first since the soccer game with Tai. Sora was eager to put that behind her and go on with her relationship with Kouji. Sora looked up at the clock. Still 20 minutes until the class let out. Bored, Sora sighed and started holding her head in her hands. She looked over at Kouji. He was paying attention to the teacher and didn't notice her looking at him. Sora looked back at the clock. Only a minute has passed since the last time she had looked. Sora sighed again and sat back in her seat. She drummed her fingers on the desk. Would it be so bad if they let out early? Sora needed to go to her locker and switch some of her books anyway. Finally, the class let out. Sora quickly went to her locker and traded the books she needed for the ones she didn't. Kouji walked up as she closed the door. "Hey, Sora. We still on for tonight?"<p>

"Yeah. Sora took a look at the clock above the row of lockers. "Sorry, Kouji, I gotta run or I'm gonna be late!" Kouji simply nodded. Sora hightailed to to her next class.

* * *

><p>Matt and Tai walked quickly to the middle school after classes had been dismissed for the day. They were eager to see what the survey of the students there had turned up. Tai could see that Matt was nervous. He had every right to be. His brother might still have to go to study hall. He might have to go longer because of he and his friends contesting it. After what seemed like a 100-mile walk, they reached the school. The two teens hastily made their way to the principal's office to find out what had happened. Tk and Kari were already there waiting.<p>

"Ah, you're here," the principal said.

"Well, what did the students say?" Tai asked.

"I regret to inform you that the students spoke negatively about Mr. Takaishi here."

"What!" Matt shouted. "That's not possible!"

"Facts are facts!" The principal had an evil grin on his face. "Since you contested me, he has to go to study hall for four weeks instead of two."

"You didn't even ask the students, did you?" Tai asked.

"Of course I did! Are you accusing me of lying!"

"Okay, if the faculty really did ask what we told you to ask, then they should have spoken positively about Tk."

"Well, they didn't."

"They lied!" Matt said.

"Have you any proof?"

"I sure do!" Kari said. She got her cell phone out of her pocket. "I also surveyed students throughout the day. I asked them the same question the faculty were supposed to ask and recorded everything." Kari played a video of a student saying Tk would never do such a thing, and it must have been Davis. "Proof enough for you!" Kari asked, angry.

"Not even! I need more than one person-"

"Then you got it!" Kari went on to play 35 videos of students saying Tk would never attack Davis.

The principal's face turned red. "You had the faculty lie about what the students said, didn't you?" Tai asked sternly.

"...There must be some mistake..."

"You have your evidence, now let Tk of off his study hall time!" Tai outright demanded.

The principal signed a piece of paper. "...This is a form saying you are excused from study hall..."

"Glad we could clear that up. Thanks again for all of your cooperation," Tai said. He and the others exited the principal's office and left the building.

"Wow, Kari, how did you know to get all of those videos?" Matt asked.

"Davis is their pet. I knew the results would be falsified. So I took matters into my own hands," Kari replied.

"Tai, Kari, I can never explain how grateful I am to both of you," Tk said.

"I'm just glad you don't have to rot in study hall now," Kari said.

"Yeah, me too," Tai said.

"Thanks again. If I ever get the chance, I will pay you back for this," Tk said.

"Why don't you give Kari a kiss since she helped you out?" Matt teased.

"H-huh! W-what!" Tk stammered.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Kari said.

"So you don't love Tk?" Tai asked.

"I never said that. I-"

"So you do love him?" Matt asked.

Kari didn't know what to say. "Just ignore those two!" Tk told her. "They're too socially inept to know what love is!"

"You _do_ realize you're talking about me right?" Matt said. "I mean, I can understand you saying that about Tai, but _me_?"

"What's that supposed to mean!" Tai said.

"Oh, nothing... just that you don't know anything about women."

"Oh, and you do?"

"Yup!" The gang broke out in laughter.

"It's getting late," Kari said. "Mom will have cows, kittens, and rhinos if Tai and I don't hurry right home." Tai silently nodded.

"I know what you mean," Tk said. "Bye guys!"

* * *

><p>I don't know if it's working or not, but I'm trying not to beat up on Davis. How am I doing? Thanks for reading. As always, please R&amp;R. Till next time.<p> 


	5. V: Making Up

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

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><p>V: Making Up<p>

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><p>Sora and Kouji were out on their date. Kouji had taken Sora to a little French restaurant. All of the waiters spoke with a French accent. Sora loved the sound of their accents. She took a look at her menu. All of the dishes listed on it were in French. Sora felt lost. She didn't know what any of it was. "Uh... do you know how to read the menus?" Sora asked Kouji.<p>

"...No..."

"Well, how are we supposed to order if we can't read the menus?"

"...Get a waiter to help us, I guess..." Kouji spoke with disdain. Because of his loner nature, he wasn't very comfortable talking to people anyway, so he really didn't want to have to ask for help with this.

"Excuse me," Sora called one of the waiters over. "We're having a little trouble with the menus, could you give us a hand?"

"Wee," The waiter replied. He told Sora what all of the dishes were. He finally came to something that sounded appetizing to her.

"I take that," Sora said.

"Very excellent choice, madame." The waiter turned to Kouji. "Do you need assistance with the menu as well, monsieur?"

"...No..." Kouji pointed to a random dish on his menu. "I'll just take this."

"Ah..." The waiter said. He wrote the order down on his notepad. "Roasted snails and fried frog legs, very excellent choice, monsieur,"

Kouji grimaced at the bad choice he had made. "...This is just great..."

"You should have asked for help," Sora told him.

"...I... I'm to shy to ask for help."

"You asked me out, didn't you? How did you overcome your shyness then?"

"...I would rather not talk about it..."

Sora silently sighed. She really wished she could get Kouji to open up a little. "Science class has gotten kinda boring, hasn't it?"

"I actually find it more interesting now than at the start of the year."

_He said the exact opposite of what I said. How typical._ "So... what's your favorite movie?"

"I don't go to the movies. Too many people for my taste."

"How can you not like places with a lot of people? I love to go to places with lot's of people so I can people watch."

"People watch?"

"Yeah. My mom taught it to me when I was younger."

Sora was asking too many questions. It made Kouji uncomfortable. Kouji was glad to see their order arrive. He wasn't as glad when laid his eyes on what was on his plate. "People eat this stuff?" Sora laughed. In an attempt to save face, Kouji reluctantly picked up his fork and slowly put some of the... substance into his mouth. To his surprise, it wasn't absolutely awful. Sora stopped asking questions so she could eat. Kouji was grateful that she wasn't asking questions about him. He managed to eat about half of his food, but left the rest.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting."

Sora finished eating. Kouji quickly called the waiter over to get the check to try and keep from having to answer questions. The two of them left the restaurant. "So, what do you want to do next?" Sora asked.

"Right now, I want to go home." Sora looked over at Kouji. "I think I feel stuff moving around inside my stomach. I feel really queasy right now."

"Oh, goodness, you had better get home."

"Yeah." Kouji put his hand over his belly. He quickly walked back home.

Sora sighed. This was not the night she had been expecting. She looked down at her watch. It was only 9:30, far too early to call it a night. She aimlessly wandered around under the streetlights not sure of what to do. She eventually ended up over by the world-famous Odaiba ferris wheel. There was a bench under a tree by a small stream. The ferris wheel was in perfect view. Sora slowly walked over and sat down. She leaned back and just watched the ferris wheel go around. It looked so pretty at night when it was lit up.

Sora remembered back to a long time ago when she was a young child. Tai had talked her into riding the ferris wheel. She was afraid of it, but Tai showed her his puppy dog face. She just couldn't say no. They got up inside the wheel. Sora was fine at first, but the higher it went, the more it scared her. The wheel made one revolution, and halfway through another. Just then, it stopped to allow more passengers aboard. They were stuck up there like that for a couple of minutes. Sora, dizzied by the height, started to panic and hyperventilate. She was so scared. Tai suddenly walked up and gave her a hug. He said, "Don't worry, Sora, I'll protect you." Sora started to relax. Finally, they got off the wheel and back onto the ground. "Thanks, Tai," Sora said.

Tai donned that all too familiar grin. "You bet, Sora." That moment was a precious one to Sora. She realized she had not seen Tai since the soccer game. She remembered the way he acted around Kouji. She was mad at first, but then the ferris wheel memory came back to her. Sora giggled and forgave Tai. How could she be mad at him? Sora started to miss him. She decided she would call him and see what he was doing. She opened her phone and was about to open her contacts list, but the clock caught her eye. It was 10:23. _Oh no. I stayed out longer than I planned. Great, I bet mom is worried sick about me. I'll probably get a lecture about how dangerous it is to be alone at night. I had better get home._ Sora got up and stretched her legs. It took her a minute to get her balance after sitting on that uncomfortable bench for so long.

* * *

><p>Davis stood outside the door to the middle school. Word had gotten to him that Tk had been released from his detention sentence, and Kari was the one who got him out of it. He didn't like that. Not one bit. He waited patiently for Kari to walk by to tell her how displeased he was for getting that runt Tk out of detention. Several other students walked by. Davis scanned them carefully to make sure Kari was not among them. Finally, he saw her approaching in the distance. He started walking towards her instead of waiting for her to come closer. Suddenly, Davis noticed that Kari was not alone. Tai was with her. Tai saw that Davis had noticed him. He pointed at his eyes with his fingers and then turned his hand towards Davis. Tai wanted to show that he meant business. Davis gulped. He turned and walked away. He knew that was treading on thin ice. Kari smiled as she saw Davis walking away. "Think he'll leave me alone now?" Kari asked her brother.<p>

"He knows what will happen if he does anything," Tai replied. "He should leave you alone now."

Kari gave Tai a big hug. "You're the best!"

"You don't have to tell me. I was there." *

"Sure..." Kari rolled her eyes. "I gotta go. Bye!"

"See you after school." Tai watched to make sure Kari got inside okay before he went on his way.

* * *

><p>Sora sat with Matt in the cafeteria at school at lunch time. "So..." Matt said. "Heard you have a boyfriend."<p>

"Yeah."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Kouji Minamoto."

Matt looked at Sora with a puzzled expression on his face. "You mean you're going out with Mr. Stoic?"

"Mr. Stoic?"

"That's his nickname. Man, I thought I was a loner until I met this guy."

"Yeah, he is pretty quiet."

"Why are you going out with him?" The way Matt talked kind of upset Sora.

"Why does it bother you?"

"It doesn't. I just- it's... you two seem like the last one's who ever go out together."

"Well, you know what they say: opposites attract."

"I guess so." Matt noticed Tai walking by. "Hey, Tai!" Tai looked over and saw Matt and Sora. "Come sit with us."

Tai was a little unsure about sitting with them since he had not made up with Sora yet. Non the less, Tai walked up and sat down with them. "Hi, guys," he said timidly.

"How's it going?" Matt asked.

"Not too bad," Tai replied. He looked over at Sora. "Haven't seen you lately. How are you?"

"Good, I guess."

Tai looked away. _...She's still mad at me... I would be too, after that sad display on the soccer field. I need to come up with an ice-breaker..._

"Oh, I haven't told you about our adventure yesterday," Matt told Sora.

"Adventure?" Sora said.

"Yeah." Matt started telling Sora about the ordeal with Tk and Davis. "...So, we go to Tk and Kari's school after we get out here. The principal says the students spoke against Tk."

"No way!" Sora said.

"Well, they didn't actually," Tai said. "Kari knew they were going to lie, so she recorded some videos of students saying that Tk would never attack Davis." Tai started laughing. "You should have seen how red that guy's face turned. He just knew he had won." Tensions between Tai and Sora finally started to loosen up a little.

"Well, I think I'm going to go court the girls," Matt said as he got up. "See you guys later." Really, Matt had picked up on the tensions between Tai and Sora, and was giving them some space so they could work it out.

"That was... really nice what you did for Tk," Sora said.

"That's what friends are for... ya know?"

Neither one of the two teens knew what to say next. They kept waiting for the other to say something. "How are things with you and Kouji?" Tai finally said. _You idiot! That's the worst thing you could have __said!_ Tai mentally beat himself up.

"We're doing pretty good," Sora replied. _A lot better than you and I are doing right now._

"That's cool."

There was another long, tension-filled silence between the two of them. "Man, he sure was fast in the soccer game," Tai said.

"I know. I couldn't believe he was outrunning you."

"Yeah. I didn't think there was anybody faster than me."

Sora just nodded. Again, another tension-filled silence ensued. Tai really wanted to say he was sorry for the way he acted. He just didn't know how. Finally, he decided he would come right out and say it. "Sora..." Tai started. She looked over at him. "I uh... I want to say... I'm... sorry... for the way I acted the other day when we played soccer."

Sora sat and thought about what to say for a minute. "What do you mean?" Sora tried to act like she didn't know what Tai was talking about.

"I... I was short with you the other day, and I had no right to act that way. And I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Sora couldn't remember a time when Tai acted this sincere. It put her at a loss for words. "...You don't have to apologize for that. You were just up tight because you were close to losing the game." The two of them started looking into each others' eyes. They gave each other a hug. "Apology accepted."

All of the tension between the two of them suddenly disappeared. "Thank you..." Tai said.

"But really, you have nothing to apologize for."

"Aw, you're too good to me." Tai was so glad that things were finally back to normal between the two of them. Suddenly, the bell rung. "I guess I'll see you after school."

"Kay. Bye." With that, the two friends went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>School had let out for the day. Matt was walking out the door with his arm around this girl he had chatted up. Nobody was sure how Matt was able to instantly get a girl like that. It made all of his friends mad. The two of them walked outside. As they walked along, they passed a car parked by the curb. "Hey babe, you wanna go for a ride?" The guy revved his engine.<p>

"Sure..." She instantly broke away from Matt and got inside the car. The guy floored it and left Matt standing there in a cloud of smoke, angry, jealous, feeling betrayed.

"Don't think I've ever seen that happen before," Tai said as he suddenly walked up from behind Matt, startling him.

"Huh! Oh, Tai, it's just you. Yeah, well, I didn't really wanna go out with her anyway."

Tai burst out into laughter. "You're so vain!"

Matt thought about making a comeback, but decided not to. "So, what was up with you and Sora?"

"What do you mean?" Tai tried his best to hide that he was lying. It didn't work.

"Come on, Tai. I have known you guys for too long. Don't give me that. I know there is something up."

Tai sighed. "I... kinda hurt Sora's feelings the other day."

"What did you do?"

"I would really rather not talk about it."

"Fine. Did you guys make up?"

"Yeah. Everything is back to normal now."

"You really mean that? You're not just saying it so I will leave you alone?"

"Of course!"

"Okay..."

The two teens walked on in silence for a moment. They made their way over to Tk and Kari's school. "How did things go with Davis today?" Matt asked.

"Pretty good," Kari answered. "When Davis saw Tai walking up with me this morning, he backed off."

"Yeah," Tk said. "He didn't even pay any attention to me."

"I knew he wouldn't want to mess with me," Tai said. "You shouldn't have any more problems with him now."

"Thanks, Tai. I don't what I would have done without you," Tk said.

"You bet, little buddy."

"Well, it's time to go home," Matt said. "Let's go, Tk."

"Well, I was hoping I could spend the night at Kari's," Tk said. "We're in this class together, and there's this project we need to work together on."

"Okay. You guys have fun. Play nice," Matt said. It made Tk blush.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes on them."

Kari huffed. "Stop it!"

Tai held his hands in front of himself for defense. "Okay, I promise I won't tease you anymore!" The gang all shared a laugh. Tai walked home with Kari and Tk. For the first time since the soccer game, he got a good night's sleep now that his mind was at rest with Sora.

* * *

><p>* Line taken from <em>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.<em> I do not own that.

It's no fun when Tai and Sora aren't getting along, is it? As always, please R&R. Thanks. See you next time.


	6. VI: A Whole New World

Hello again. Sorry for the small delay with the update. I was writing some of the later chapters to get ahead so there wouldn't be any update delays. So much for that, huh? Anyway, thanks for your reviews, and thanks for 1,000 hits. This is the longest chapter of the story thus far. There's going to be a little bit of a departure from the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

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><p>VI: A Whole New World<p>

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><p>It had been a strange day. Matt sat on the couch watching TV. He felt unusual. It was as though he had woken up in the point of view of somebody else. Everything felt foreign to him. He didn't like the way his hair looked, he didn't feel like hitting on the girls at school, and he wasn't into any of his favorite shows on TV. It made him feel like crap. He just wanted to feel like himself again. He finally got so bored with his TV show that he turned it off and went to his room. He lied down and buried his head in his pillow. He really didn't feel good. He tossed and turned for a minute. He rolled over onto his back and just started staring at the ceiling. He got bored doing that and sat up on the edge of his bed. He ran his hands over his face. "I hate it when this happens..." Every now and again, he would go through this. He never knew when it would happen or how long it would last, but it always happened just like Old Faithful.<p>

He looked out his window. It was really cloudy. It was just a gloomy day. Matt sighed."Is just a little bit of sunshine too much to ask for?" He got up and started pacing. He was really bored. He wished that there was something interesting to do. Suddenly, he received a text message on his cell phone. He picked it up from his nightstand and opened it. He didn't recognize the number the message was from. He deleted the message instead of opening it. "Sorry, don't know ya..." He closed his phone and put it back on the nightstand. A few seconds later, he got another text message. It was from the same number as before. "Somebody must have me mixed up with somebody else." Matt deleted the message from the anonymous number yet again. Again, his phone went off. "For crying out loud!" Matt saw that he had received yet _another_ text message from that number. He finally decided he would open the message.

The message read, 'Fulfill you destiny. Come to the place marked on the map below.'

"Cryptic enough for ya?" Matt sarcastically said. He deleted the message and put his phone in his pocket. A few minutes later, he received another message. It was from that number again. It was the exact same message. "Somebody must be trying to play a prank on me or something." Matt was about to delete the message again, but he didn't. "You know, maybe checking this out will help get me out of the dumps." Matt looked at the map in the message. He had never been to the location marked. It was clear on the other side of town. "May as well check it out. Got nothing to lose."

Matt walked out of the house and started walking in the direction of the place marked on the map. It was going to be a long way, but Matt didn't care. Anything was better than sitting at home bored to death. The location was on the other side of the city, so Matt had to walk through the middle of it. He got tired and sat down on a bench to rest for a minute. He looked around at the people in the city. Needless to say there were some colorful people. Matt was starting to understand why Sora liked people watching so much. "Man, I should come down here more often..." Matt said to himself. At one point, Matt saw a strange couple. The woman was dressed in a three-piece suit, and the man was wearing a dress. "I really need to come down here more often."

Matt got done resting and continued on his way. He opened the text message again to get another look at where the location was. He still had a way to go. Getting out of the house was making him feel much better than before. He was starting to feel like himself again. He was glad that he had gone on this trip, even if his feet were hurting from all the walking. "...Maybe I should start working out with Tai..." Matt was starting to get close. He looked back at the map in the message. He wasn't sure exactly where the marked location was. "Oh, great, I bet I'll have to look all over to find this place." Matt looked up and noticed he was in a rough-looking part of town. A lot of the people were giving him dirty looks. "Wow... there's a lot of stiffs around here..." Matt checked to see if he had brought his pocket knife. He felt quite relieved when he felt it in his back pocket. Matt looked back at the map again. "I'm almost right on top of it." Matt looked around trying to spot whatever was marked in the map. There wasn't anything obvious. "I'm beginning to think this is just a wild goose chase."

Matt looked back at the map. He discovered he could zoom in and out on the map. He compared the pictures in the map to his surrounding area. He started to recognize some of the houses. "Oh, I see where this place is..." Matt followed the map carefully. Eventually, he came to a shady-looking house. "This is it? This junky house? Wow, this field trip was a real bust!" The house had a front porch that was covered. The door was shut tight and had a dead bolt on it. It had off-white paint that was pealing in certain places all around the house. It was covered in dust. Some of the windows were cracked. It was pitch black inside. Matt couldn't tell if there was anything or anyone inside. In the front yard, the grass was completely dried our and yellow. The house looked shaky. Like somebody could sneeze on it, and it would collapse to the ground. All in all, it just looked terrible. Matt wondered why the place on the map led him here of all places. Suddenly, he heard somebody walking up from behind. _Oh great, here comes one of the locals._ He turned around to see who it was. To his surprise, it was Sora of all people. "Sora?"

"Matt?" Sora was just as shocked as Matt. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. I got this text message that said, 'fulfill your destiny. Come to the place marked on the map.' It had a map that led me to this place."

Sora's eyes got big. "That's exactly what happened to me!"

"Huh?"

"I got the exact same message as you did!"

"Wow... what's going on here?"

"I don't know. Where did the message lead you?"

"To this shabby-looking house." Matt pointed over at the house.

Sora had a puzzled look on her face. "Think the message was a prank?"

Matt put his hands on his hips. "I don't know. I'm confused." He started scratching his head.

Sora tired to look through the windows. "Think anybody is inside there?"

Matt looked as well. "I can't tell. It's too dark inside there."

"I just don't get it. Why did the map in the text message lead us to this place? It doesn't make any since."

"I don't know. I think you may be right, though. It was probably some kind of a prank. That's all I can think of."

"Funny how we would be the one's who got that strange message."

Matt and Sora heard somebody else walking up from around the corner. "Hear that?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. Somebody's coming. We had better hide. The locals around here don't look very friendly." Sora nodded.

The two of them ran and hid behind one of the sides of the house. They peeked around the corner to see who was coming. To their surprise, it was Tai. "Is that Tai?" Sora asked.

"Tai? What are you doing here?" Matt asked as he walked out from behind the house.

Tai looked over and saw Matt and Sora. "You two wouldn't happen to be here because of a text message with a map in it, would you?"

Matt and Sora looked at each other. "Did it say, 'fulfill your destiny. Come to the place marked on the map'?

Tai started scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. That's exactly what it said."

"This is so weird..." Sora said.

Tai looked over at the house. "Is this the place marked in the map?"

"Looks that way," Matt said.

"...How stupid."

"I know. I thought there would be something cool here."

"Ah well, nothing ventured, nothing gained," Sora said.

Suddenly, the front door of the house opened and made creaking noise as it slowly swung open. It startled the three teens. "Somebody is inside there!" Sora said.

"Who's there!" Tai said. Nobody answered.

"Maybe we should get out of here..." Sora said.

A few seconds passed and no one had come to the door.

"I think I agree with Sora. We should go," Matt said.

"Are you sure?" Tai said. "We came all this way, why don't we investigate?"

"Do you realize how dangerous that would be?" Sora asked Tai.

"You just said, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' So why don't we go in?"

"Are you crazy?" Matt asked. "We don't know what's in there. It could be a murderer for all we know!"

"Those text messages led us here, and now the door to this place just opened. Maybe the person behind this thing is in there."

"If he is, why didn't he come out?" Matt asked.

"Come on, guys, trust me." There was no trace of fear on Tai's face.

Matt and Sora looked at each other. "What do you think?" Matt asked.

"Well, we might as well."

Matt slapped his face. "I Don't believe it..."

"You in, Matt?" Tai asked.

Matt sighed. "I guess so..."

Tai flashed one of his cheesy grins. "Okay. I'll go in first." The three of them walked up on the porch of the house. They slowly approached the door. Tai got up next to the door and peeked around the corner. He couldn't see anything.

'What's in there?' Matt whispered. Tai shook his head to say that he didn't know.

Tai slowly walked inside and looked around. The room was completely empty. He stuck his hand out of the door and waved Matt and Sora to come in. They walked inside. "There's nothing here..." Sora said.

"That door couldn't have opened by itself," Matt said.

Tai partially closed the door and stood back to see if it would open on its own. After a few minutes, the door creaked open again. "You were saying?" Tai got 'the look' from Matt.

"Hey guys, come look at this," Sora called out from the other room.

Tai closed the door again and the two boys walked in the other room with Sora. "What is it?" Matt asked.

"This," Sora said and pointed. There was a computer sitting on a desk up against the wall.

"The heck...?" Matt said. "That's the only thing in here?"

"What's that on the screen?" Tai asked. He walked up to get a closer look at the computer, Matt and Sora close behind. There was a strange window open on the computer monitor. "I've never seen anything like this before..."

Suddenly, the screen got very bright. The three teens put their arms up in front of them to shield their eyes from the blinding light. "What's going on?" Sora said.

The light started to engulf them. "Whoa... I feel strange..." Tai said.

A grid of lines started forming on their skin. Suddenly, the grid squares started breaking apart. The bodies of the three teens started to disappear. Then they were gone.

* * *

><p>A bright light broke out. Suddenly, several small squares came together making an object. That object was Tai. His body finished being put back together. "What the...!" Tai looked around. He was no longer inside that house. He was out in the middle of a field. "How did I end up here! I was in that house a minute ago... And what happened to my body? It's like I was broken up into little pieces or something!" Tai looked for Matt and Sora. Neither one of them were there. "Matt! Sora! Where'd you go?" Tai started wandering around. He didn't see Matt or Sora anywhere. "What's going on!" Tai heard somebody walking up from behind him. "Is that you, guys? Ah!" Tai turned around not to see Matt and Sora, but a bunch of little creatures running towards him. They looked like little pink heads. They had what looked like antennas coming out of their heads. It freaked Tai out. "What are those!" The little head looking things kept coming at Tai. He got into a defensive stance expecting a fight. When the creatures got up to him though, they all just ran around him and kept going. Tai was confused. "...That was weird... I wonder what those things were." Tai started walking around in search of Matt and Sora. He kept calling out for them, but he just couldn't find them. "Did the computer only suck me in? Did it leave Matt and Sora behind? Or am I having some strange ass dream?" Tai pinched himself in an attempt to wake up. It didn't work. "I wish I knew what was going on..."<p>

Tai wandered around for a while as he looked for Matt and Sora. There had be absolutely no sign of them whatsoever. Tai saw more strange creatures as he walked. These were different from the one's he saw the first time. "This is one freaky place!" Tai walked on until he came to a big drop off. He didn't see it at first and almost walked into it. Tai struggled to keep his balance as he teetered on the edge. He caught himself and backed away from the edge. That experience scared him. It made his heart race. "Never try that again..." Tai looked to see what was down there. "Matt? Sora?" There they were.

The two of them looked up at Tai. "Tai! You're here too?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. I was beginning to think you guys weren't here. I was starting to get discouraged." Tai got down and slid down the side of the hill. He landed over by Matt and Sora. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah," Sora answered. "Why?"

"Have you not seen the locals around here?"

"Some of them," Matt replied.

"We gotta find a way outta here," Tai said. "This place is dangerous."

"You were the one who just _had_ to go into that house," Matt said. "If you hadn't talked us into it, we wouldn't be here right now!"

"You didn't have to agree to go with me!" Tai said in his defense.

"Calm down, boys!" Sora said. "Everything is going to be okay."

"She's right. We need to stay calm so we find out where we are so we can go back home," Tai said.

"Fine," Matt said.

"How far do you think it is back home?" Sora asked.

"Who knows..."

"What should we do next?" Sora asked.

"I don't guess either of you have a compass?" Tai asked. Matt and Sora both shook their heads. "Great... this isn't going to be easy. I guess we'll just have to wander around until we find out where we are."

"Joy!" Matt said.

"It could be worse."

"I don't see how it could get much worse than it is right now."

"Believe me, Matt, there is always some way that things can get worse."

The three teens wandered around trying to find their way back home. "Nothing around here looks familiar to me at all," Sora said. "I thought I would recognize something. It's like..."

"Like what?" Tai asked.

"Like we landed in a different word or something."

"That's crazy..." Matt said. "This has got to be a dream or something."

Suddenly, a large creature flew up and landed in front of the three teens. This creature wasn't like the others from before. It was a lot larger, and was very hostile. "W-what is that!" Matt shouted.

"...Trespassers...!" The creature said.

"It can talk?" Tai said.

"Trespassers! How dare you trespass on my territory!" The creature shouted.

"He doesn't look very happy..." Sora said.

"Run!" Tai said. He faced the other way and took off. Matt and Sora put up no argument and started running after Tai.

"Running will not save you. You will die for trespassing!" The creature started running after them.

Tai, Sora, and Matt all ran as fast as they could. It didn't seem to matter how fast they ran, the creature kept gaining on them. "Whoever is having this crazy dream had better wake up!" Tai said. They ran until they came to a cave in the side of a hill. "Let's go in there, he's too big to fit inside that cave," Tai said. Sora and Matt followed him inside the cave and tried to take cover from the creature.

The creature tried to swipe at the three of them from the mouth of the cave. As long as his arms were, he couldn't reach them at the back of the cave. "Stay down," Tai said. "Maybe he'll get tired and give up. The creature started growling. It got angry because it couldn't reach Tai, Sora, and Matt.

"Come out!" shouted the creature.

"Not on your life," Sora quietly said.

Matt looked around. "Is there another way out of this cave?"

Tai looked as well. There was a winding path in the cave. It was very dark, and Tai couldn't tell what lie ahead. "Looks like it keeps going. But I can't see through the darkness. It could be dangerous."

"This coming from the guy who wanted to go inside the house!" Matt said.

"Let's not start that again," Sora said.

"We should see where the cave leads," Matt said.

"We don't have any light," Tai replied.

"Anything's got to be better than sitting hiding from that freak outside."

Tai sighed. Matt started walked further into the cave. "Matt, wait!" Tai went off after Matt.

"Don't leave me here with that thing!" Sora said. She took off after Tai and Matt.

The sounds of the creature slowly got softer and softer until they could no longer be heard. "See, the further we go into this cave, the more likely that thing is to go away," Matt said. Right after he finished talking, he ran into the wall of the cave.

"And I said we needed light," Tai said. "So much for your 'brilliant plan' to go deeper into the cave!"

"Better than any idea you had!" Matt growled.

"Sore loser!"

"Wimp!"

"Jerk!

"Jock!"

"Loser!

"Stupid idiot!"

"Both of you stop it! Now!" Sora said. "If want to have any hope of surviving, then we have to work together, and that means we can't be fighting amongst ourselves. So stop arguing!"

"Sora's right," Tai said. "No fighting."

"Your just mad 'cause I got the last word!" Matt said.

"Whatever, we can settle this later. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Fine."

The three of them carefully walked through the pitch black cave. They got up next to the wall and felt of it to find their way through to the end. "Think that thing outside gave up yet?" Sora asked.

"One can hope..." Tai said.

"What was that thing?" Matt asked.

"Don't know. Don't care. All that matters is that we get out of here."

"Speaking of which, how _are_ we going to get out of here?" Sora said.

"Good question," Tai replied. "...That computer brought us here. Was there anything like that computer where you guys landed in this place?"

"No," Sora answered.

"Just a bunch of trees where I was," Matt said.

"I would imagine if there's a way here, there must be some way back. Like that computer," Tai said.

"Where do we find it?" Matt asked.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, the three of them saw a light up ahead. "Look, it's the end of the cave!" Sora said.

The three of them slowly made their way towards the light. It hurt their eyes as they got closer. "Here's hoping that monster isn't up there waiting for us," Tai said. He crossed his fingers.

The three friends exited the cave. They looked around, but there was no sign of the monster. "I think we lost him," Matt said.

Suddenly, the monster appeared again. "You had to open your mouth!" Tai said.

"Die, trespassers!"

"So we wandered into your territory, what's so wrong about that?" Sora asked.

"This is _my_ territory. Only those who sever me may pass."

"Are we gonna die?" Matt said.

"Nice knowing you, guys," Tai said.

Suddenly, a figure appeared the same way that Tai and the others had when they arrived in this place. He was about average height and was wearing a white cloak with a hood. The hood was over his head. He faced off with the monster. "Leave! Leave now, and I will spare you!" said the figure.

"Another trespasser. Die!" The monster charged the figure in the cloak.

"Have it your way," The figure lifted his right hand. Suddenly, the monster stopped. It fell over and shrieked in pain. The creature slowly started breaking into little pieces which floated away in the air.

"That guy saved us," Tai said.

"Or he wants to kill us, too," Matt said.

The figure turned around and faced Tai and the others. "There you are. I have been looking for you."

"See, he wants to kill us," Matt said.

The figure walked up towards the tiro. He reached up and took lowered his hood. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a certain charm about him. "It's a good thing I found you when I did. That CyberDramon was about to kill you."

"Who are you?" Tai asked. "What is this place."

"My name is Gennai," replied the man. Gennai was about to speak some more, but faint growls were heard off in the distance. "Come, this place is not safe. I will explain everything."

"Good, 'cause we have a lot of questions," Tai said.

Gennai took a small device out of his pocket and pressed a button on it. The four of them turned into squares like before and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Tai, Sora, and Matt suddenly found themselves inside some building. "Welcome to my home," Gennai said. The three teens were somewhat disoriented from being transported. "Going through my transporter takes some getting used to. The disorientation should pass quickly."<p>

"Excuse me, but... **CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!**" Tai shouted.

"As long as you promise not to be so loud..." Gennai said as he rubbed his ears. "Have a seat." Gennai gestured to some chairs. The three teens did as they were told and sat down. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Boy, do we," Tai said.

"Are you the one that brought us here?" Sora asked.

"What was that thing that tried to kill us back there?" Matt asked.

"Where are we?" Tai asked

"How do we get home?"

"What's your part in all of this?" Matt asked.

"What do you want with us?" Tai asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" Gennai said. He sat down as well. "One thing at a time. Yes, I am the one who brought you here. I-"

"Great, now will you please be so kind as to send us back?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"Please, let me finish," Gennai replied. "This is going to sound crazy."

"We've already been through plenty of crazy stuff today," Tai said. "Whatever you have to say can't be any worse than what we've been through."

Gennai took a deep breath. "You're no longer on planet Earth. The place you currently reside in known as the Digital World. This world was created about 70 of your years ago by a computer called Yggdrasil." Gennai got up. He walked over to a window and pulled the curtain back so the teens could see. "The world you see before you is not _real,_ as you might perceive it. It is made up from computer data. When Yggdrasil created this world, it filled it with creatures called digital monsters. Digimon for short. They have an ability to channel their energy and evolve into new forms. We call this Digivolution."

"What an interesting story," Sora said.

"If this world is made up out of computer data, does that mean we are too?" Tai asked.

"Yes," Gennai replied.

"How are we able to be here?"

"Through a process to complicated for you to understand or me to explain."

"Well, what does any of that have to do with us?" Matt asked.

Gennai walked back and sat down again. "The Digital World used to be in chaos. There didn't used to be any leaders. There was corruption everywhere. One day, the Digital World elected three celestial digimon to serve as rulers. A council, if you will."

"Again, what does that have to do with us?" Matt asked.

"Patience, Matt," Gennai replied.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know many things about all three of you."

"Cool, I've never had a stalker before!" Tai said sarcastically.

"Please, this is serious," Gennai said. Tai gestured that he was done joking. "The reason I brought you here is because the Digital World is in danger. One of the three celestial digimon, Cherubimon, has apparently become corrupted. He has imprisoned the other two digimon on the council and declared martial law. The Digital World has become his personal play ground."

"...And you want us to stop him?" Tai said. "Look, Mr. Gennai, we're all flattered, but we're just kids in high school. What could _do_ to stop this Cher- whatever his name is?"

"He name is Cherubimon. There is an ancient prophecy. It says, 'There will come a day when the Digital World will fall into corruption. Its so-called leaders will desecrate the Digital World with their wicked ways. Then, three heroes from another world will rise up and set the Digital World right.' You are the chosen three."

"How do you know we are the right one's?" Sora asked.

Gennai didn't answer. Instead, he got back up and walked over to a table sitting up against the wall. It had a box on it. Gennai opened the box. Inside were three small devices. He held them up the to Tai, Sora, and Matt. Bright light erupted from the devices and hit the three teens. They looked down and noticed the devices were in their hands. "These are called Digivices. They have chosen you. Thus, you are the chosen one's from the prophecy."

The three of them looked at each other, uncertainty on their faces. "Okay, so we're the one's from the prophecy. Still, we're just high school kids," Matt said. "How are we going to stop this guy and set things straight?"

Gennai walked over to a door and opened it. Three digimon came walking out. One looked like a little orange dinosaur. Another one looked like A giant pink bird with an antenna on it's head. The last one looked like like a yellow dinosaur wearing a fur coat. "You will be partnered with these digimon," Gennai said. "The orange one is called Agumon. He is your partner, Tai. The pink one is called Biyomon. She is your partner, Sora. The one in the fur is called Gabumon. He will be your partner, Matt."

"So nice to meet ya!" Agumon said as he ran up to Tai.

"I have waited a long time for this," Biyomon said and flew up to Sora.

"I can't believe my partner is finally here!" Gabumon said. He walked up to Matt.

"Wow, this is pretty cool," Tai said.

"Together, you must stop Cherubimon and restore order to the Digital World," Gennai said.

"So, where do we start?"

Gennai gestured for them to follow him. He lead them to another room with a computer in it. "This is Cherubimon," Gennai showed them a picture. "You must defeat him. Defeating him will restore him to his former self. It will allow the Digital World to have peace again."

"He doesn't look like he would be all that dangerous," Sora said.

"Believe you me, he is far stronger than he looks. He has many minions and supporters. Defeating him will not be easy. But I'm sure you can do it."

"Just point us in the right direction," Tai said.

Gennai took Tai's Digivice from him. "This will allow you to teleport like I do. I'm setting it to transport you to the fortress where the celestial digimon reside. You will need to fight your way in. It will also allow you to teleport back to your world."

"Can do. What are we waiting for?" Tai said.

"Always adventurous," Sora said shaking her head.

"You know it!"

Matt walked up and said, "Who died and left you king?"

"What's the matter with you?"

"If you want to do this, then that's fine with me. But don't speak for me. I want no part of it."

"Matt, look around. The people here need your help. Are you going to go home knowing what's going on here? Or are you going to stay and help?"

Matt sighed. "You know me all too well, Tai."

"Atta boy!"

"I hate it when you do that..."

"It's settled then," Gennai said. "I won't be able to help you once you leave. You will be totally on your own."

"Don't worry, we'll watch after them," Agumon told Gennai.

"Good luck.

Tai pressed the button Gennai showed him on his Digivice, as well as Sora and Matt. They and their digimon were teleported away.

* * *

><p>Over 5,000 words. I haven't written a chapter that long in quite a while. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, please R&amp;R. See you all again in chapter VII.<p> 


	7. VII: An Evil Empire

Hello again. Are your eyes still hurting from reading that last chapter? Thanks for the reviews. You guys are what makes this story possible. The name of this chapter is a reference to Star Wars. Here's chapter VIII.

* * *

><p>VIII: An Evil Empire<p>

* * *

><p>Tai, Matt, and Sora appeared along with their new partners. The fortress was in sight off in the distance. It was beautifully decorated. "It looks like Tron when we do that," Matt said.<p>

"I know, I was thinking the same thing," Tai added.

"What's Tron?" Agumon asked.

"It's a movie from our world," Sora answered.

"Movie?" Biyomon asked.

"Yeah. What, you don't know what a movie is?"

"No. What is it?"

"It's a—"

"Never mind that," Tai interrupted. "We've got work to do. How do we get to that fortress?"

"Follow us," Gabumon said. He and the other two digimon started leading the teens in the direction of the fortress.

"How far is it?" Matt asked.

"Quite a way," Agumon answered.

"Why did we beam in so far away?" Tai asked.

"If we had gotten too close, they would have known we were coming," Biyomon answered. "We need to use the element of surprise."

The six of them walked on in silence for a moment. "So, what's this world like?" Tai asked.

"It was nice before Cherubimon turned into a bad guy," Agumon answered.

"I'm not being rude or anything, but this guy has got to have a lot of guards protecting him," Matt said. "And you guys aren't exactly an army. How are we going to stop this guy?"

"We can Digivolve," Gabumon answered.

"Digivolve?"

"Didn't Gennai say something about that?" Tai asked.

"Yeah. When we Digivolve, we jump to the next level," Agumon said.

"Jump to the next level?"

"Yeah. We digimon have many different levels. Each level is more powerful than the last."

"So, how do you Digivolve?" Sora asked.

"Normally, it would take years for us to get strong enough to Digivolve," Biyomon said. "But you you guys are in danger, your Digivices will activate, and allow us to Digivolve so we can protect you."

"I see," Tai said. "So, by going and attacking Cherubimon, we will be in danger, which will allow you to Digivolve?"

"Right," Agumon answered.

Silence fell upon the group again as the approached the fortress. They got up to a perimeter being guarded by some of Cherubimon's guards. "We've reached the first line of the defense," Biyomon said.

"Two Angemon," Gabumon said.

"Is that what they're called?" Sora asked. Gabumon nodded.

The team took cover to hide from the guards. "How do we get past them?" Tai asked.

"We need to make a distraction so we can slip past," Agumon said. "Here, allow me." Agumon walked around over to the guards' left flank using trees as cover to stay hidden. He picked up and rock and threw it into some bushes. It made noise. It got the guards' attention. They walked over to investigate. Agumon ran out from his cover and waved the others to move up while the guards were distracted. They ran up and and got past the area the Angemon were guarding.

"Good work," Tai said.

"Why, thank you," Agumon replied.

"That was scary," Matt said.

"That was the easy part," Gabumon said. "The closer we get to the fortress, the harder it's going to be to sneak past."

"So why bother trying to sneak past?" Tai asked. "Why don't you guys do that Digivolve thing and tear 'em apart?"

"Because, it takes a lot of energy to Digivolve," Gabumon replied. "And it would alert the whole place to our presence."

"Right, we need to lay low before we start making noise," Agumon said.

"Sounds boring," Tai said.

"You call this boring?" Matt said.

"Why, yes. I would rather go for the direct approach instead of all this sneaking around."

"This isn't a game, Tai. You know that, right?"

"Chill, Matt."

"I will not chill. You're not taking this seriously."

"Do you humans always argue like this?" Biyomon asked.

"Not always," Sora answered.

"Get off of me, Matt!" Tai said.

"If you want to risk your life doing all that direct approach stuff, you go right ahead. That's up to you," Matt said. "But don't involve Sora and me."

"Matt, I would really love to settle this with you, but now isn't the time."

"I thought you guys are friends," Agumon said.

"We are... when Matt's not being a bitch!" Tai said.

"Oh, whatever!"

"Shh! There are more guards up ahead!" Gabumon said.

The team had arrived at the front gate to the fortress. It was heavily guarded by a variety of different digimon. "How are we supposed to get inside _there_?" Tai said. "Trying to cause another distraction is just asking for trouble."

"We'll have to go around," Biyomon said. "There's another entrance on the other side that isn't guarded so heavily."

The team started sneaking around to the other side of the fortress. They had to evade two patrols on the way. It was a long walk to the other side. The team had to stop and rest for a minute. Matt and Sora sat down with Gabumon and Biyomon while Tai and Agumon watched the perimeter for approaching guards. "What's with you and Matt?" Agumon asked Tai.

"Sometimes, humans argue," Tai answered. "I don't like it when people do me that way. I'm not two-years old, for crying out loud! I know better than that."

"Why do you argue so much?"

"Don't you digimon ever argue?"

"Not very much."

"Matt and I don't usually argue like that. He's just up tight because of the situation. He always gets like this when things get serious."

"I see..."

"So, who are the other two celestial digimon?"

"MagnaAngemon and Ophanimon."

"What do you think Cherubimon did with them?"

"I don't know. I would imagine he has them imprisoned some where."

Agumon and Tai continued to talk. Meanwhile, Matt and Sora were talking as well. "Tai is being too loose and free with this," Matt said.

"You're being too hard on him," Sora replied.

"No, I'm not. Every time something like this comes up, he acts this way. I'm so tired of it."

Sora started to get fed up. "And I'm tired of you bitching about him!"

"I'm not bitching about him."

"Yes you are. Stop it!"

Matt huffed. "Fine."

"What's up with you guys?" Gabumon asked. "You're supposed to be a team."

"Boys will be boys," Sora said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Biyomon asked.

"It's an old proverb from out world."

Tai and Agumon walked back up. "You guys rested up?" Tai asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied.

"Okay, let's get going."

The team got going again. It wasn't very much further to the other entrance. "So, when we get to this other entrance, what are we going to do?" Matt asked. "We can't just walk up and ask to go inside."

"We'll go on the attack," Agumon replied.

"What!"

"Yeah, we're going to Digivolve and blast our way in," Biyomon said. "There aren't as many guards on this side, so we won't encounter as much resistance."

"Then we just go inside and find Cherubimon," Tai said.

"Sounds dangerous," Sora said.

"It's the only way we're going to be able to get inside," Agumon said.

"So be it," Tai said.

The team kept walking. They came upon the other entrance. They were far fewer guards here. "Okay, They don't know we're here," Agumon said. "We have the element of surprise."

"Two Guardromon, one Shellmon, and two Monochromon," Gabumon said. "Five to three odds, but the element of surprise will level the field."

We need to strike quick and fast so they won't know what's coming. We need to split up and attack from different angles. Sora, Biyomon, you go over there." Agumon point over at the left flank. "Tai and I are going to go over there." Agumon pointed to the right flank. "Matt and Gabumon, you stay here. Digivolve and strike them. I'll give a signal to let you know when to go. Okay, let's go!"

Sora and Biyomon carefully made their way over to the left flank. Tai and Agumon made their way over to the right flank. "I hope this works..." Matt said.

"It will," Gabumon said. "They won't know what him them."

Sora and Biyomon got into position. "Let's wait for Agumon's signal," Biyomon said.

Tai and Agumon got into position on the right flank. "Okay, it's time to Digivolve," Agumon said.

"How do you do it?"

"Just hold your Digivice up and let us take care of the rest."

"Okay." Tai got his Digivice out and held it up.

"Agumon, Digivolve to... Greymon!" Greymon was much larger than Agumon. He had blue strips on his back and huge horns protruding from his head.

"Biyomon, Digivolve to... Birdramon!" Birdrmon was a gigantic red bird. She looked fierce.

"Gabumon, Digivolve to, Garurumon!" Garurumon looked like a gigantic blue wolf.

The three digimon charged out of their cover and attacked the guards. "Meteor Wing!" Birdramon opened her wings and sent balls of fire down down on the digimon below.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon blew a great big ball of fire and sent it at the guards.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon sent a blue flame out of his mouth.

The three attacks all hit at the same time. One of the Monochromon and one of the Guardromon were destroyed. The Shellmon was badly injured, but the other two were just a little beat up. Birdramon descend down from the sky and swiped at Guardromon with her sharp talons. Guardomon's armor mostly protected him from Birdramon. "Destruction Grenade!" Guardromon fired missiles out of his arms at Birdramon. She closed her wings and absorbed the hits from Guardromon. "Meteor Wing!" Birdramon opened her wings again and fired her attack at Guardromon. He was destroyed instantly.

The Shellmon tried to face off with Greymon. He was not much of a match. Shellmon swung his arms at Greymon, but missed as Greymon was too fast for him. "Nova Blast!" Greymon fired his attack at Shellmon. He was injured even worse. Greymon charged Shellmon and butted him with his horns. Shellmon shouted in pain. He turned into small data particles. The particles floated away into the air.

Garurumon and Monochromon were the only one's left. Garurumon swiped at Monochromon took the swipes without taking very much damage. His armor-like skin was far too thick for Garurumon to penetrate with just his claws. "Volcanic Strike!" Monochromon charged Garurumon and hit him with the giant horn on his head. Garurumon dodged Monochromon's attack, but Monochromon charged him again. Garurumon took a hit this time, but he wasn't too badly injured. "Blue Blaster!" Garurumon launched his attack at Monochromon. The attack hit Monochromon's head and bounched off. Monochromon charged Garurumon again. Garurumon waited until the last second and then jumped out of the way. "Blue Blaster!" Garurumon hit Monochromon in the side where he was more vulnerable. Monochromon was injured bad. Garurumon slashed Monochromon in the side where he had hit him in the side. Monochromon was on his last leg. Garurumon gathered up some speed and head butted Monochromon, sending him up into the air. "Blue Blaster!" Garurumon shot his attack while Monochromon was flying through the air. The attack destroyed Monochromon.

"We did it!" Tai cheered.

"Wow!" Matt said. "You guys are are absolutely awesome!"

"We can celebrate later," Greymon said. We need to go inside and find Cherubimon while we still have the element of surprise."

The three Champion-level digimon and their human partners ran through the opening in the wall and ran up toward the castle. There were large doors the barred entrance into the castle. "Nova Blast!" Greymon blasted the doors, allowing the team to enter. They went inside and started searching for Cherubimon. His reign of terror on the Digital World would be at an end. Peace would once again return.

"We had better hurry up and find Cherubimon before they find out we're here!" Sora said. "Or we'll be outnumbered in a hurry."

"No kidding," Tai said.

The team searched around for several tension filled minutes. They weren't sure when the other guards would find out the patrol they took out had been destroyed, or if they would run into guards inside the castle. They were all terrified of being found. They wouldn't be able to stop Cherubimon if they were to be discovered. There was a lot riding on them right now. They could not afford to fail. Suddenly, they came across a patrol while they were searching for Cherubimon. They had to take cover to hide from the patrol. Luckily, they were not seen. The team decided to follow the patrol to see if they would lead them to Cherubimon. Fortunately for them, the patrol did just that. The patrol walked into Cherubimon's chamber to report to him. "Let's wait here for them to leave and then rush Cherubimon,"

Greymon said. Birdramon and Garurumon nodded in agreement. The guards went on to Cherubimon for a long time. The team was scared that another patrol would come along and find them. Finally, the patrol left the chamber, leaving Cherubimon all alone.

"Now's our chance," Garurumon said.

The team all charged into Cherbuimon's chamber. He was pacing back and forth when they ran in. He didn't pay them any mind at first, but as they got closer, he looked up. "Who are you!" Cherubimon got into a defensive stance.

"We're the Digidestined!" Tai said. "We're here to stop you from treating the Digital World like it's your own personal playground!"

"I am not treating the Digital World in that manner!" Cherubimon said. "I am doing all that is within my power to to set this world right! It has been ruined!"

"Ruined? How?" Matt.

"It has fallen out of order. Digimon are out in the Digital World making all of their own decisions. If this world is to survive, then this must stop."

"What are you talking about?" Greymon said. "We digimon like having freedom."

"Exactly!" Cherubimon said. "This world has fallen into crime and villainy. The only way for this world to experience true peace and safety is for there to be martial law in all the land. That is what I am working for."

"You're insane!" Birdramon said. "The Digital World is built on freedom of choice! Taking that away will surely cause the Digital World to fall apart!"

"No! You're wrong!" Cherubimon said. "My way is the _only_ way!"

"Then we'll just have to show you that you're wrong!" Tai said. "Go get 'im boys!"

The Digidestined's digimon got into a defensive stance. "Storm of Judgment!" Cherubimon extended his hand out and released a dark energy wave. The wave hit the three digimon, knocking them back. The wave then hit the three humans. They were thrown across the room.

"Sora! Matt! Are you guys okay!" Tai shouted.

"I think I'm okay..." Matt said.

"Fine," Sora said.

"Look at the digimon," Matt said and pointed in their direction. They were badly injured.

"They're not strong enough," Sora said.

"They have to be," Tai said. "We came too far to just turn back."

The digimon got back up and faced off with Cherubimon again. "That all ya got!" Greymon taunted. "It's going to take a whole lot more than that to stop us!"

"You're choice. Lightning Sphere!" Cherubimon drew his arm back over his shoulder. A lightning bolt formed in his hand. He threw it at the three digimon. The lightning bolt landed with a loud noise and struck the digimon. They fell over onto the ground in terrible pain. "You should not have come here, and now you're going to die!" Cherubimon shouted triumphantly.

"Oh no, they lost!" Sora said. "What do we do?"

"We have to get them out of here!" Tai said.

"How, that guy's incredibly strong!" Matt said.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing, or they will die! We have to go save them. And I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get attached to these guys!"

"You humans are the masters of these digimon?" Cherubimon asked. "You will die as well for sending them to kill me!"

"Oh, hell! We're going to die!" Matt said.

"No, we're not!" Tai said. "I have no intention of dying. And I have no intention of letting you guys die."

"Be destroyed!" Cherubimon said.

Suddenly, Gennai appeared in the room. "Not so fast!" He took something out of his pocket and threw it at Cherubimon. The object stunned Cherubimon for a moment. Gennai ran and picked up the digimon and then ran over to the humans. "Time to go!"

"You will not escape! Storm of Judgment!" Cherubimon recovered from being stunned and sent his attack at Gennai and the others. He was too late, though, because Gennai teleported himself and the Digidestined out of the palace.

* * *

><p>Gennai and the Digidestined re-appeared at his house. "Whoa!" Tai said. "Wow, that was close."<p>

"Yes, it was," Gennai said. "If I had not arrived when I did, you would surely have been killed."

"I thought you said you couldn't help us," Matt said.

"I took a great chance going in there," Gennai replied. "Honestly, I got lucky. My stun spore was enough to hold him off long enough to get you guys out of there."

"Stun spore?" Tai asked.

"A plant that grows here in the Digital World. I'm surprised that it worked on him."

"Anyway, thanks for saving us back there," Tai said.

"Why did you send us in there?" Matt asked. "We were nowhere near strong enough to stop him!"

"You are the Digidestined," Gennai replied. "You are the one's who are supposed to set the Digital World straight again. I thought you would unlock your true power if you attempted to stop Cherubimon."

"That sure was a big chance to take with our lives."

"Take no risks, win no victories," Tai told Matt, to which Matt glared at Tai.

"Just be glad that we're still alive, Matt," Sora said.

Matt sighed. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"How are we supposed to beat this guy?" Tai asked Gennai.

"There are more levels than what you reached when you fought Cherubimon," Gennai replied. "You reached the Champion level. There are two levels above that; Ultimate, the level above Champion, and Mega, which comes after Ultimate. Cherubimon is a Mega-level. You will need to unlock the ability to Digivolve to Mega to stop Cherubimon. I thought you would be able to jump straight there, but I was mistaken."

"How do we unlock Mega level?" Tai asked.

"You have to make your digimon partners stronger. The only way for them to get stronger is to battle other digimon. You will need to unlock Ultimate before you can reach Mega."

"Isn't that just lovely," Matt said sarcastically.

"Could be worse," Tai said.

"Cherubimon has many governors that he has appointed throughout the Digital World to help him maintain control. You can fight them to strengthen you partners. But first you need to let them recover so they can be in top condition when they fight."

"Okay," Tai said. "And you said we can use these to go back home?" Tai held his Digivice up.

"Correct. Your Digivice is not only what allows your digimon to Digivolve, it is also your link between the worlds."

"We had better go right back home," Sora said. "We've been gone a long time. I bet our parents are worried about us."

"You need not worry about staying here in the Digital World for extended periods of time," Gennai said. "There is a time differential between the Digital World and your own. One second in your world is a long time here. When you return, your partners should be healed and ready to fight again."

"Sounds good. Just show me how to use this," Tai said.

Gennai showed the three teens how to use their Digivices to transport themselves back to the Real World. They did so and left.


	8. VIII: Back Into Action

So... 21 days since my last update... Really sorry about that. I'll try harder to avoid delays like this again. Thank you for 2,000 hits. You guys are the greatest!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

* * *

><p>VIII: Back into Action<p>

* * *

><p>Tai, Sora, and Matt reappeared in the Real World. They looked around to see where they were. They had ended up not too far from their houses. "That was... an interesting experience," Sora said.<p>

"I'll say," Tai said.

"So, when should we go back?" Matt asked.

"Tomorrow," Tai said. "Gennai said there was a big time difference between here and the Digital World. We don't need to wait too long before we go back."

"Guys, I don't think we should talk about this here," Sora said. "We need to keep this a secret."

Tai looked around and noticed a lot of people walking by. "Oh... yeah. Hehe..." Tai scratched the back of his head.

"Okay," Matt said. "Let's meet up after school tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Sora said.

"Yeah. See you guys then," Tai said. With that, the three teens went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Tai walked in his house. His mother was there waiting for him first thing. She had a stern expression on her face and had her hands on her hips. "And just where have you been, mister?"<p>

"No where... just hanging out with Matt and Sora." Tai felt like he was lying, but we wasn't really. He had, in fact, been with Matt and Sora earlier.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"Because... you were all into your _stupid_ soap operas. I tried to tell you I was leaving, and you didn't even pay me any mind."

Mrs. Kamiya sighed. "Sorry, Tai."

Tai smiled. "It's okay. You were just worried about me." Tai walked away to his room. 'Even though you're beyond annoying about how protective you are.' he muttered. Tai laid down on his bed and started staring at the ceiling. His every thought was of what he and his friends had just been through in the Digital World. As scared as he was at times, Tai had deeply enjoyed being in the Digital World. It was such a break from his drab life. It offered an escape. Tai couldn't wait until he got to go back. He was completely overcome with eagerness. He wished time would go faster so he could hurry up and return to the Digital World.

Tai got really bored. He got up and started pacing around the room. He felt like he was having an anxiety attack. He was about to go get his Digivice and sneak off to the Digital World. Of course, that was too dangerous. Tai was stuck here in the Real World for the time being, much to his dismay. Tai walked up to his window and looked outside at the sky. "I wonder what Agumon is doing right now..." Tai quietly said. He put his arms on the window seal and rested his head on top of them and continued to stare out the window. Tai never felt more alive then he did at that time. Being in the Digital World was the most awesome feeling. For once, Tai felt like he had a purpose. He was actually working for a goal. Not just sitting at a desk in a class room at school forever and not accomplishing anything.

Tai finally got up from his spot by the window and started pacing again. "Ah... the anxiety is killing me." Tai looked for something to try and take his mind off Agumon and the Digital World. He practiced some soccer moves for a minute, but he was too distracted with thoughts of the Digital World and kept making mistakes. The ball flew around the room and bounced into things.

"Tai, please, the noise!" Kari said from across the hall.

"Oh... sorry..."

Tai put his soccer ball up and sat back down on his bed. He held his head in his hands. "I'm _so_ bored..." Tai muttered. He got back up and walked outside to get some air. Tai paced around the yard with his hands in his pockets. There was a cool breeze outside. It felt so good. Tai looked up at the sky again. "I know it hasn't been that long, but I already miss you, Agumon. Tai walked back inside and went back to his room. Suddenly, his phone started ringing. He looked on the caller ID. It was Sora.

"Hello?" Tai spoke into the microphone.

_'Hey, Tai,'_ Sora's voice came through the phone.

"What's up?"

_'I'm just really excited about earlier in the Digital World,' _Sora said.

"Heh, yeah, I am too. I can't stop thinking about Agumon," Tai suddenly realized that he had said his partner's name out loud. He would have to be more careful, or somebody was going to hear him.

_'I can't stop thinking about Biyomon, either. I can't wait until we go back.'_

"Yeah. I can't wait either." Tai took a peak out of his door to make sure nobody was within earshot. It was all clear outside.

_'Isn't this just so exciting?'_

"It sure is. I want to get my Digivice and go back right now."

_'Tell me about it. Hey, why don't we?'_

"Because, it's... too dangerous."

_'It was dangerous before.'_

"Yeah, well..."

_'Well what?'_

"I don't know. Matt'll get his feelings all hurt if we go without him."

_'Yeah, I guess so.'_

"Don't worry. We're going back tomorrow."

_'Okay. See you after school tomorrow.'_

"Bye." Tai closed his phone and put it back on his nightstand. He completely understood what Sora was going through right now. He felt the same way. Tai was glad he and Sora were Digidestined together. It would give them a chance to reconnect now that she was seeing that _other guy._

"Tai! Kari! Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Kamiya called from the kitchen.

"Oh yeah!" Tai quickly made his way to the kitchen so he could pig out.

* * *

><p>Sora waited patiently for her last class of the day to end. It wasn't that she didn't like this class. Quite the contrary. She liked this class. The only reason she wasn't interested in it right now was because it was keeping her from going back to the Digital World. She had been waiting all day so she could return to the Digital World with Tai and Matt. She couldn't wait to see Biyomon again. All she had to do was get through this last class. But that was easier said than done. Time was just crawling along. Finally, the bell rung and the teacher dismissed the class. Sora was overjoyed. She hastily exited the classroom and went to go grab her stuff out of her locker. Of course, the whole dang class just <em>had<em> to talk as soon as they got outside. The crowd took up the entire hallway. Sora had to force her way through the crowd, which wasn't easy. Finally, she got free from the crowd and quickly made her way to her locker. She put her school books away for the day and got her cell phone. She had also put her Digivice in her locker. She made sure nobody was watching and slipped into her pocket. Sora closed the door to her locker and was about to go find Tai and Matt so they could go to the Digital World, but Kouji walked up to her.

"Hi..." Kouji quietly said.

"Hey there, Kouji," Sora replied.

"Wanna go out?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have plans."

"Plans? With who?"

"Tai and Matt. Why?"

"Are you trying to leave me?"

"No! Of course not. What gave you that idea?"

"You're going to hang out with other boys. Think about how that makes me feel."

Sora was puzzled by the way Kouji was acting. "Chill out, Kouji. I'm not going behind your back."

"Okay... Have fun. But we're going out tomorrow night."

Sora was about to walk away, but then she heard what Kouji said. "Um..."

"What? You have more _plans?_"

"No... I was just... I was thinking about what I have to do tomorrow."

"You have to go out with me." The tone of Kouji's voice made it sound like more of an order than a statement.

"Okay! We'll go on a date tomorrow. Calm down!"

"See ya tomorrow night." With that, Kouji left.

"I never knew he was so... possessive..." Sora left to go find Tai and Matt. They decided they would meet up together behind the school after everybody else left so they wouldn't be seen. Sora made her way outside and started working her way to the backside of the building to meet up with Tai and Matt. Her thoughts had been on the odd way Kouji acted since she left. She was puzzled as to why he was being so possessive of her. Her thoughts were interrupted though, as she had found Tai and Matt behind the school.

"What took you so long?" Tai asked as he saw Sora walking up.

"I uh... Kouji was talking to me after class," Sora replied.

"Oh, Mr. Stoic?" Matt said. "Wow, he must have had his talk box turned over or something. I've never heard him say more than two words in one day."

"Yeah. I have bad news."

"You guys broke up?" Tai asked. He wasn't sure why, but he acted kind of eager when he asked that.

"No. He insisted to me that we go out tomorrow. I won't be able to go with you guys."

"Tell him you have other things you have to take care of," Matt said.

"Yeah, this is more important than you guys going out," Tai said.

"I... I'll see what I can do," Sora said, uncertainty in her voice.

"Okay then," Tai said. He didn't have much confidence in Sora right now after the way she acted. "Let's get this show on the road."

The three teens got their Digivices out and activated the transporter on them. They were transported to the Digital World.

* * *

><p>Tai, Sora, and Matt shook off the effects of being teleported to the Digital World. They had returned to Gennai's house. Agumon, Biyomon, and Gabumon were there waiting for them. "Welcome back, Digidestined," Gennai said.<p>

"You guys feeling any better?" Tai asked the digimon.

"Yeah. We feel great!" Agumon replied. "It's been a couple of days since you guys left. We've had plenty of time to rest."

"Excellent!" Tai said.

"So, what is on the agenda for us today?" Matt asked Gennai.

"First, we need to strengthen your digimon partners," Gennai replied. "That is the only way you will be able to defeat Cherubimon. To do that, you are going to attack the governors Cherubimon has put in place to keep the Digital World under control. Not only with this allow you to grow stronger, it will loosen Cherubimon's grip on the Digital World."

"So, who's the bad guy we're going after?" Tai asked.

Gennai led the Digidestined and partners to his computer. He pulled up a screen with a map of the Digital World on it. "I'm going to send you here," Gennai enlarged a small island out in the ocean on the map. "This place is called File Island. It has a small population, so it was one of the first places Cherubimon took control of. He has appointed one of his servants, Devimon, as the governor of the island. Devimon is a Champion level digimon. He is quite strong, but if you three pull together, I know you can beat him."

"What does Devimon look like?" Sora asked. Gennai pulled up a picture of Devimon on the computer screen. "That's him!"

"Wow, he looks kinda scary..." Tai said.

"He's even meaner than he looks," Agumon said. "I grew up on File Island. It was a really nice place. Then Cherubimon put Devimon in charge. All the digimon on the island have to bow down before Devimon on a daily basis to show respect."

"You were there when Devimon took over?" Tai asked Agumon.

"Yeah. Then Gennai came and saved me."

"The only one's loyal to Devimon on File Island are his guards," Gennai said. "The rest of the residents there hate him. This should work to your advantage. Hopefully, with this battle, you can become stronger."

"Let's do it!" Tai said.

"Be careful," Gennai said. Tai nodded.

Tai, Matt, and Sora activated their Digivices and transported to File Island.

* * *

><p>The Digidestined appeared with their digimon in a large dessert. The sun was beaming down and it was very hot. "Of all the places we could have ended up, it had to be here!" Matt complained.<p>

"Wow... I've never felt heat like this," Sora said.

"Could be worse," Agumon said. "We could have ended up in the ice region of the island."

"Ice region?"

"This island is a big circle. It has a dessert, an icy region, and a huge forest. The forest is larger than the dessert and the arctic land combined. In the center of the island is Infinity Mountain." Agumon pointed over to the mountain in the center of the island. It was massive. "You can see Infinity Mountain from anywhere on the island. Devimon put his fortress at the very top to signify his supremacy. It's all a power trip."

"You mean Devimon is way up there?" Matt asked. "How are we supposed to get up there? It'll take us days to make it all the way up there." The mountain did not look very inviting.

"Yeah, well, we had better get started up there," Tai said.

"Biyomon could Digivolve to Birdramon and fly us up there," Sora said.

"Too dangerous," Agumon said. "Devimon will see us coming, and we won't last long."

"What if we only go half way?" Biyomon asked Agumon.

"That might be okay."

"Go, Biyomon," Sora said.

"Biyomon, Digivolve to... Birdramon!" The team got on Birdramon. "Hold on, we're going in fast and quiet." The team braced them selves as Birdramon flew up off the ground. "Here we go!" Birdramon took off in the direction of Infinity Mountain.

* * *

><p>Could there be a little trouble in paradise for Sora and Kouji? As always, please R&amp;R. Thanks! See you again in chapter IX.<p> 


	9. IX: To the Devil, His Due

Greetings. I am so sorry for the looooong wait. Time to write has been beyond scarce lately. Anyway, let's continue with the story. Let me give you an advanced warning, there is a character in this chapter that is quite angry. Not too angry, though. Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

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><p>IX: To the Devil, His Due<p>

* * *

><p>Birdramon flew quickly and quietly. She went up just a little bit past half way up Infinity Mountain and landed. The rest of the team got off of her. Birdramon de-evolved back into Biyomon. "Will you be able to Digivolve again?" Sora asked Biyomon.<p>

"Yes," Biyomon replied.

"Good, because we're going to need you later," Agumon said. "It will probably take all three of us to beat Devimon."

"We had better get moving," Tai said.

The team started making their way up Infinity Mountain. The pathway would get narrow and tight at times. The humans and their digimon partners would have to press themselves up against the side of the mountain at times to keep moving along the path. Then the path would occasionally get really steep. It was a struggle to make it at times. The Digidestined came across another narrow passage. They slowly and carefully made their way over it. The path started to crumble under their feet. It worried Sora and made her panic. Her foot slipped, and she was about to fall off the side of the mountain.

"Sora!" Tai shouted. He quickly reached out for her hand and caught her. "Hold on Sora!" Tai looked into Sora's eyes and saw that she was absolutely terrified. "Hold on, Sora!"

"Tai! Help me!" Sora looked down. It was a long way down. It scared her even more.

"Don't worry. I'll pull you up," Tai said. Holding on to Sora was about to make Tai fall as well.

"Don't panic!" Biyomon said. She flew down to where Sora was and grabbed onto her with her feet. Biyomon flapped her wings hard and fast. With Tai's help, they were able to pull Sora back up.

"Oh my... I thought I was going to die..." Sora said.

"It's okay now," Tai said trying to calm her down.

"Thanks, Tai..."

Finally, the team got past the narrow part of the path. Making matters ever worse, it was quite hot. Although it was cooler than it had been back in the dessert, it was still pretty warm. The heat was taking a little bit of a toll on the Digidestined. "If this keeps up, we're going to dehydrate in no time," Matt said.

"Hang in there, guys," Tai said. "Just keep going. It'll all be over soon. Then we can get some water."

The heat was not having the same effect on the digimon as it was having on the humans. Save for Gabumon. His fur coat made conditions like these almost unbearable. He wished he could take it off, but it would be too embarrassing in front of the others. He would just have to tough it out for the time being.

"Can we stop to take a break for a minute?" Sora asked.

Tai took a look up above. It was still quite a way to the top of the mountain. He really didn't want to stop, but then he saw how bad off Sora and Matt were. "Yeah, let's take a break. Look, we're almost to the side of the mountain that's in the shade. Let's go over there and rest for a minute."

The team made their way over to the shade and sat down. Tai noticed Agumon had a distant look on his face. "Something bothering you, Agumon?" Agumon didn't reply. He just stared off into space. "Um, Agumon?"

"Huh?" Agumon finally snapped back to reality. "Did you say something?"

"Is there something bothering you?"

Agumon sighed. "I have a bit of a vendetta with Devimon..."

"Because he took over your home?"

"Yeah. First, Cherubimon thinks he's gotta fix a problem in the Digital World that doesn't exist, then _this guy_ shows up and starts trying to destroy the place." Agumon looked out at the sky. "This is my home. After going through this place being taken over by that monster..." Agumon started to get visibly angry.

"Whoa, clam down, Agumon!" Tai said.

"Oh... Sorry..." Agumon took a deep breath. "Thinking about what's going on here just makes my blood boil."

"I understand. I know I would be really angry if something like that happened to me."

"Hey, Agumon," Matt said. "How much farther do you think it is to the top?"

Agumon looked up at the mountain. "Let's see... We still have a way to go, but it shouldn't take very long."

"Let's hope this heat doesn't take all the fight out of us," Sora said.

"Don't worry, when we get a little higher up, it was start to get a little cold," Agumon said.

"Well," Tai said as he got up. "Are we ready to get moving again?"

"I guess so..." Matt said.

The Digidestined started making their way up the mountain again. "So, what's the plan for when we get to the top?" Biyomon asked.

"I was just thinking about that," Tai said. "How about this; when we get to the top, Devimon's guards are going to see us."

"Not if we use stealth," Gabumon said.

"With what I have planned, we won't need to sneak in," Tai replied.

"How do you figure?" Matt asked Tai.

"Well, let's act like we're here to speak to Devimon," Tai said. "We say that we want to speak to Devimon about something, then his guards lead us to him. Then, Agumon, Gabumon, and Biyomon all Digivolve. We can strike loud, fast, and hard. Devimon won't know what hit him. Then File Island will be free again. Cherubimon will have one less henchman working for him, and we get stronger."

"That's a pretty ambitious plan," Sora said.

"I don't like it," Matt said. "I highly doubt that Devimon's guards will just lead us to him. I think we should sneak in."

"Matt, why is it that you always want to do the exact opposite of what I want to do?" Tai asked.

"Maybe it's because you're too hot headed for your own good."

"Whatever. Look, we're getting closer to the top. We need to decide what we're going to do now instead of waiting until the last minute. I say we try my plan."

"And I say your plan is too risky," Matt replied. "We'll be out in the open where we can get blasted. We should try to sneak in."

"Hey, how come you two are always making decisions all by yourselves?" Sora asked. "I'm here too, ya know."

"Okay then, Sora, what do _you _propose we do?"

Sora put her hand on her chin and thought for a moment. "Well, I think Tai's plan sounds a little better."

Matt's eyes got big. "Lose your mind when you almost fell back there! Tai's plan is suicide!"

Sora was harrowed when Matt brought up that she had almost fallen to her death a few moments ago. "I... uh..."

"Matt, you idiot!" Tai said. "Don't ever mention that again!"

Matt suddenly thought about what he had said. "Oh... Sora... look, I'm really, really sorry..."

Sora didn't reply. "Some team mate you are," Tai said.

Matt got pissed at Tai. He wanted to say something, but thought better of it. "Wow, the way you humans socialize is strange," Gabumon said.

"I thought you were friends?" Biyomon said.

"We are," Tai said. "Look, all this arguing isn't getting us anywhere. We need to decided what to do."

"Like Sora said, you are leaving us out," Agumon said.

"Oh, and I suppose you have a plan too, huh?" Matt said.

"Shut up, Matt!" Tai was quickly growing impatient with the way Matt was acting. "What is it, Agumon?"

"Devimon has a small palace at the top of the mountain," Agumon said. "There is only one entrance. Devimon only has two guards up there protecting the entrance. We can use Tai's plan, because they will let us in if we say we're messengers from Cherubimon."

Tai looked at Matt with an 'I told you so' look on his face. "Okay then, it's settled. We're going to act like we're messengers sent by Cherubimon to talk to Devimon. The guards will take us inside to Devimon. And that's when we tear Devimon a new one." Matt was not pleased. He crossed his arms and huffed. Tai kind of liked proving Matt wrong. "Let's go." Tai said.

The team continued up the mountain. Tai noticed Sora was still a little upset about the way Matt spoke to her earlier. He walked over to her. "You okay?"

Sora looked up at Tai. It appeared as though she had been crying. "Yeah..."

"Listen, don't let Matt get to you. He likes to pretend like he knows it all like that a lot. It's a sin to contest something he thinks he knows all about when he doesn't."

Sora walked along and just stared at the ground. "I don't want the team to argue and be mad at each other like this..."

"I don't either, but things like this happen some times. That's why you have to make up so you can go on." Tai patted Sora on the back to try and reassure her.

Sora cheered up just a little bit. "Thanks, Tai. I don't know what I would do without you sometimes."

Tai scratched the back of his head. "Aw sucks, you're making me blush." Sora chuckled at Tai.

The team had finally reached the top of the mountain. Off in the distance, Devimon's palace was visible. The place was much smaller than the celestial palace. It looked like it only had about five rooms in it. Just as Agumon had said, there were two guards standing by the only door. "One Monzemon and one Gatomon," Gabumon said.

"They don't look very tough," Matt said.

"They're not," Agumon said, "They should be easy to beat."

"Strange how Devimon has such weak guards," Tai said.

"That's because Devimon thinks he doesn't need really strong guards," Agumon replied. "It's part of his power trip. He thinks his reputation is so bad, no digimon will dare oppose him."

"Well, let's get on with it," Tai said.

The team slowly approached Devimon's palace. "Halt! Who goes there?" The Gatomon said.

"We are messengers, sent here by Lord Cherubimon," Agumon said.

"Yes, we bring an important message for Devimon," Gabumon said.

"Why didn't Lord Cherubimon come himself?" asked the Monzemon.

"You see... Lord Cherubimon was busy trying to quell a riot," Agumon said.

Monzemon and Gatomon looked at each other. They were a little skeptical of the Digidestined's story. Plus, the didn't recognize the humans. "Who are those strange digimon with you?" Gatomon asked.

"Uh..." Agumon said. He was somewhat surprised Monzemon thought the humans were digimon. "These are some of Lord Cherubimon's newest fighters. He sent them with us to protect us." Monzemon and Gatomon looked at each other again. They still weren't all that sure of the Digidestined's story. "Listen, we have a _very_ important message to deliver to Devimon. Lord Cherubimon will be very angry with you if it is not delivered." Monzemon and Gatomon looked at each other again. They finally decided they would let the Digidestined inside.

"Follow us," Gatomon said.

The two guard digimon opened the door to Devimon's palace. The Digidestined followed them in. They were lead to a room that had extravagant decorations. Sitting in a fancy throne on the other side of the room was Devimon. Needless to say, he looked a lot more scary than his guards. Devimon saw Gatomon and Monzemon walk in with the Digidestined. "What are you doing here!" Devimon's voice was angry and icy. "And why have you brought this whelps into _my_ palace!"

Agumon clenched his claws and his eyes narrowed. "They brought us here so we could kill you! That's what!" If it were possible, Agumon was more angry than was Devimon.

"What did you say! Do you realize that you are standing before the great Devimon? The Supreme Ruler of File Island!"

"Yeah, and we're the Digidestined!" Tai said. He was feeding off Agumon's anger.

"The Digidestined! That's impossible! That's just an old legend."

"Believe what you want, you're going down!"

"You dare oppose me? Guards, kill them!" Gatomon and Monzemon looked at the Digidestined for a moment and then looked at each other. "Now!" The two of them looked over at Devimon.

"What's in it for us?" Monzemon asked,

"What did you just say!"

"All you do is shout at us and treat us like dirt," Gatomon said. "We're through serving you!"

Devimon started gripping the arm rests of his throne. Intense anger was building up inside of him. "Fine! I will kill you all!"

"Digivolve!" Tai said

Agumon nodded. He, Gabumon and Biyomon Digivolved to their Champion forms and faced off with Devimon. "Prepare to hurt!" Greymon said.

"Now as much as you're going to hurt!" Devimon spat back.

"We're outta here," Gatomon said. She and Monzemon tried to leave.

"You're not going anywhere!" Devimon said. "Touch of Evil!" Devimon's arm grew in length. He clutched Monzemon in his grip. Monzemon shrieked in pain. Devimon released Monzemon, and he fell down on the ground. The Digidestined's digimon got in front of Monzemon to shield him.

"That's enough out of you!"

"Touch of Evil!" Devimon tried to grab Greymon as he had Monzemon. Greymon lowered his head. Devimon's hand grabbed Greymon's head, but did no damage. Greymon shook his head and threw Devimon's hand off.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon fired his attack. Devimon crossed his arms in front of himself and blocked the attack with them. Greymon's attack burned Devimon's arms slightly.

"Is that all you got!" Devimon taunted.

Greymon let out an angry growl. He charged Devimon, his large horns leading the way. Devimon caught Greymon's horns and kept them from hitting him. Devimon could not stop Devimon, though. Greymon kept on charging. He pushed Devimon into the wall behind him. Devimon was slammed up against the wall. Greymon backed up and hit Devimon again. This time, the two of them went through the wall.

The Digidestined ran up to the hole in the wall Greymon and Devimon had just made. "Man, he wasn't kidding when he said he had a vendetta against that guy," Matt said.

Devimon got up off the ground. "Touch of Evil!" Devimon extended his arm again and grabbed Greymon around the throat. Greymon yelled out in pain.

"Don't just stand there!" Tai told the other digimon.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Meteor Wing!"

Birdramon and Garurumon combined their attacks and sent them at Devimon. He was preoccupied with Greymon and didn't see the attack coming. It hit him right in the back, forcing him to let go of Greymon. Birdramon and Garurumon ran up and helped Greymon get back on his feet. There were marks on Greymon's throat where Devimon had grabbed him. "Are you okay?" Birdramon asked Greymon.

"I will be when this guy is dead!" Greymon replied.

Devimon got up and dusted himself off. "That's mighty unfair, what, with all three of you teaming up against me like that."

"There's no amount of pain we can inflict on you that will ever repay you for all the wrong you have done here on this island!" Greymon said. "So shut up! I don't want to hear your stupid crap anymore!"

"Wow, he's really angry," Sora said.

"Be destroyed! Touch of Evil!" Devimon extended his arm out for Greymon again. Greymon dodged to his left and missed the attack. He opened his mouth and chomped down on Devimon's arm as hard as he could. Pain writhed all through Devimon's arm. "Ah! Let go!"

Greymon pulled on Devimon's arm, causing Devimon to become airborne. Greymon slammed Devimon into the ground. "That's for killing all my friends here on this island." Greymon looked at Garurumon and Birdramon. "All together now. Nova Blast!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Howling Blaster!"

All three digimon combined their attacks into one super attack. The attack hit Devimon while he was still trying to get up after being flung through the air by Greymon. Devimon was knocked up into the air. Greymon saw Devimon flying around in the air. He took advantage. He charged to the spot where he thought Devimon was going to land and stuck his horn out. Devimon came down right on top of Greymon's horn. It was sticking out through his back. Devimon's eyes were large. He suddenly lost all feeling in his body. Greymon shook his head and flung Devimon off his horn. Devimon's body fell limply to the ground. "Die!" Greymon shouted.

"No... I am... the supreme rule of... File Island..." Devimon slowly said.

"Not anymore!"

Devimon tried to raise his hand and and attack Greymon one last time. Then suddenly, Devimon's hand fell to the ground. His body slowly evaporated into date particles that floated away. Greymon stomped the ground and let out a victorious roar. He then De-evolved back into Agumon. "Does it hurt? **GOOD! ! ! ! !**" * Agumon said.

"Uh, Agumon..." Tai said as he walked up. "I think that maybe you are overreacting."

Agumon slowly looked over at Tai. "Maybe. But now, I can get a little closure knowing that he's gone."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Tai!" Matt called out from a distance.

"Promise me you won't ever act like that again," Tai told Agumon.

"I promise."

"Okay. Let's go see what's going on."

Tai and Agumon walked back inside of Devimon's palace. Matt, Sora, Gabumon, Biyomon, and Gatomon were all knelt down beside Monzemon. "He's in critical condition."

Agumon walked up to Monzemon and knelt down beside him as well. Monzemon looked up at Agumon. "I... am glad... that you have freed this island... from that monster..."

Agumon's heart was in his throat. "That was really brave, standing up to him like that. The Digital World needs more digimon like you." Agumon held Monzemon's hand in his. Monzemon smiled at Agumon. Then, he slowly closed his eyes and laid his head down. Agumon suddenly felt Monzemon let go of Agumon's hand and watched as it fell to the ground. Monzemon's body turned into data particles.

"How sad..." Sora said.

The whole team was on the verge of tears. "This is why we have to stop Cherubimon," Tai said.

"Thank you," said the Gatomon. "Now, I don't have to serve that jerk anymore."

"What will you do now?" Sora asked.

"I'm going to go down and tell the citizens of File Island and tell them Devimon is dead. We can rebuild our old government again now."

"I wish you the best of luck," Tai told Gatomon. "Do us proud when you rebuild the government. This is my home. I want to see return to its former glory."

Gatomon nodded. "You bet. Goodbye."

The team all waved at Gatomon as she ran off to go break the news of Devimon's death. "Good work, crew," Tai said. "We accomplished our goal and defeated Devimon, and we also strengthened our digimon partners. We're one step closer to reaching our goal." Despite his pep talk, Matt and Sora were still kind of down because of Monzemon. "Let's report back to Gennai."

The team activated their Digivices and teleported back to Gennai's house.

* * *

><p>"Excellent work!" Gennai said after the Digidestined told him of their success on File Island.<p>

"So, can our digimon reach those other levels now?" Tai asked.

"Not yet. But they will be able to soon."

"Darn!"

"In the meantime, you have freed File Island and sent a message to Cherubimon. One that he won't soon forget."

"So, who do we go after next?" Matt asked.

"We will determine that later. It has been a long day. Right now, the digimon need to rest up. And I think it's about time you three went home."

"As much as I don't want to, you're right," Tai said. "Well be back tomorrow."

"Be careful, guys," Gabumon said.

Tai, Sora, and Matt activated their Digivices and transported back to the Real World.

* * *

><p>* Line taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops, which I don't own.<p>

Author's Note:

This story isn't quite going the way I wanted it to. I am considering discontinuing this and doing a reboot. Leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!


	10. X: That's what Friends are For

Wow, are we already up to chapter X? Man, where did the time go? Anyway, here we go. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

* * *

><p>X: That's what Friends are for<p>

* * *

><p>Tai, Matt, and Sora triumphantly returned from the Digital World. They appeared in the same spot behind the school they had left from. It had only been about a minute since they had left. "Feels like we have been gone for a lifetime, and it has been just one minute," Sora said.<p>

"I know," Tai said. "I feel like I have aged about five years in the time we were gone."

"Do you think we're aging faster in the Digital World than we do here?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. We can ask Gennai when we go back tomorrow," Tai replied.

"'Kay. I'm outta here. Later." Matt waved at Tai and Sora and then walked away.

Tai waved back. He looked over at Sora. She had her arms crossed and was staring at the ground. "Uh, did you not get the memo that said we won back there?" Tai asked her.

Sora shook her head and snapped back to reality. "Huh? What did you say?"

"Is there something bothering you?" Tai had a feeling he knew what was wrong with Sora.

"It's... nothing. I'm just tired."

"Come on, Sora. How long have we known each other, almost all our lives? I think I know when there is something wrong with you." Sora didn't answer. She just kept looking at the ground. "Come on, Sora. You know you can tell me anything."

Sora sighed. "I don't want to bring anybody down with my burdens."

Tai put his arm around Sora. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you with your burdens? Now, tell me what's wrong."

Sora shook Tai's arm off. "There's nothing wrong. How many times do I have to tell you!"

"I'm not going to leave you alone 'til you tell me."

Sora sighed again. "I hate it when you do that..."

"Please..." Tai showed Sora "the face." That puppy dog face she could never say no to.

"...Matt hurt my feelings back there."

"I knew it. That jerk! He only ever thinks of himself. He never stops to, oh, I don't know, think of others."

"Don't be hard on him."

Tai put his hands on his hips. "Why not. He hurt team moral, and upset my best friend. I think I have a right to be mad at him."

"There's no point in getting mad over this. It won't accomplish anything."

"So, it's wrong to worry about the well-being of my friend."

Sora laughed. She felt the best she had in a while. "Thanks for looking out for me, Tai. I don't know what I would do without you sometimes."

Tai flashed his trademark cheesy grin. "Can I help it if I'm irreplaceable?"

Sora slowly walked up and gave Tai a hug. She rested her head on his chest. "I don't know about irreplaceable, but..."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean!"

The two of them shared a laugh. Sora picked her head up and looked at Tai, who got caught up looking into her pretty eyes. Slowly, their heads started getting closer. Suddenly, Sora shook her head and pulled away from Tai. She nervously put her hair behind her ear. "Thanks for being there for me, Tai."

"Y-yeah, you bet." Tai was nervous as well. "I guess I should head home before mom has a cow. She'll freak if I don't get home soon."

"Would you- would you mind if I hung out with you for a while?"

"Huh?"

"I... I don't want to be alone right now." Sora still felt some fright from her near-death experience.

"...Sure..."

"Thanks. You're a real friend, Tai. Let me call my mom and let her know what I'm doing."

Sora told her mother that she was going to be at Tai's, then the two of them started walking.

"So..." Tai said. "File Island is free now."

"I just hope Cherubimon doesn't conquer the island again and put another evil governor in place again," Sora said.

"I don't think the residents there will stand for it a second time."

"I hope you're right."

The two of them walked on in silence for a moment. As they walked, there was an uneasy feeling between them. They were both still nervous about before when they were behind the school. behind the school. They almost kissed. Both of them felt like they were taking advantage of the other. Tai went over it in his head. _What were you thinking! Sora is seeing somebody else right now. Don't do that again! Sora and I have been friends for a long, long time. I don't want to like, scare her off or something like that. You two are just friends, and it needs to stay that way. But... she was about to kiss me too... She's just stressed, that's all. Nothing else. She needed comfort. And... I almost took advantage of her. Some friend I am._ Tai was so caught up in thought, he didn't notice he was about to walk out into the street.

"Tai! Watch out where you're going!" Tai wasn't paying attention, and walked right out into the middle of the road. Suddenly, a car came down the road, and it was headed straight for Tai. The driver honked at Tai. He finally snapped back to his senses. He saw the car coming, but he froze and couldn't move. "Tai!" Sora grabbed Tai be the arm and pulled him out of the street right as the car drove by. Tai fell down and started breathing hard. His eyes were big. He couldn't believe he had almost bought it. "Are you okay?"

Tai gulped. "Y-yeah. I'm fine..." His heart was racing and his breathing was erratic. "Wow... I never want to cut it that close again..."

"You should pay more attention to where you're going."

"You're telling me."

Sora helped Tai to his feet. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Tai felt of himself to make sure he was in one piece. He found a spot on his arm that was bleeding. When Sora jerked him out of the street, he fell down onto the concrete sidewalk, and it cut his arm. "All I got was a nick on my arm I think."

"Ouch. That looks like it hurts."

"Could have been worse."

"Let's get you home and fix that."

"Okay."

The two of them quickly made their way to Tai's house.

* * *

><p>"You just have a KNACK for getting hurt, don't you, Tai?" Mrs. Kamiya asked sarcastically. She had gotten her first aid kit out and was cleaning and dressing Tai's arm where he had cut it. She was used to having to patch Tai up since he was usually a little beat up after soccer games. "How did this happen to you again?"<p>

"I fell down on the way home," Tai replied.

"There's something you're not telling me," Mrs. Kamiya said. "You of all people wouldn't just 'fall down' or something like that."

"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going..." Tai was becoming uncomfortable with the way his mother was questioning him.

"Yeah, he... he... slipped!" Sora said. "There was a banana peel on the sidewalk." Tai and Sora didn't dare tell Mrs. Kamiya that Tai had almost been hit by a car. Who knows what might have happened if they had told her.

Mrs. Kamiya laughed. "Yep, that sounds about like you."

"Gee, thanks a lot, mom!" Tai laughed sarcastically.

Mrs. Kamiya finished dressing the cut on Tai's arm. "Be more careful next time."

"Yeah, yeah," Tai said. "Ow... It really stings..."

"That should go away after while. And don't talk to me in that manner!"

Tai held his hands up in front of himself in defense. "Okay, I apologize!"

"And don't you forget it." Mrs. Kamiya packed up the first aid kit and put it up. She went back in the living room and went back to watching her soap operas.

"They don't make 'em like your mother anymore," Sora said.

"Heh..." Tai said. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Sora paced for a moment. "I don't know..." Tai could tell Sora was still somewhat shaken by her near death experience from earlier. "I feel... strange... I can't describe it..."

"What do you mean?"

"...I... I saw my life flash before my eyes when I was about to fall..."

Tai held his index finger over his mouth. He looked in the living room. His mother was totally into her soap operas and not paying any attention to anything else. "Let's not talk about this here. Don't want anybody to hear us." Tai led Sora into his room. He looked both ways down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear and then shut the door. "We have to keep this a secret, remember?"

"Oh... yeah..."

"Now, what were you saying? Something about, your life flashing before your eyes."

"Yeah..." Was all that Sora said at first. "I never want to feel the way I did when I started to fall... I know I should be glad to still be alive, but that moment haunts me."

"Oh, Sora..." Tai said. He wasn't sure what to say to comfort his friend.

Sora started pacing. She felt so wound up. Tai, acting on an impulse, got up and wrapped his arms around her. It surprised the both of them. Neither one of them were complaining, though. It felt really good. Sora felt this calming sensation as she stood in Tai's warm embrace. She slowly started to feel better. "...Thanks..." Sora muttered.

"...Yeah..." Tai slowly backed away from Sora. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll protect you. I promise. I won't let _anything_ happen to you, no matter what."

Sora felt so touched. "Tai... I don't know what I would do without you."

Tai grinned from one ear to the other. "A lot less." To Tai's surprise, Sora uttered a small giggle. It was the best he had seen her all day. "We still have a war to win. I need you to be at your best. This isn't gonna cut it."

Sora visibly perked up. "Okay."

"Now there is the Sora I know."

"Thanks again Tai." There was a small silence between the two friends. Neither quite knew what to say next. "Well... I guess I should go."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Sora let herself out and went home. Tai wasn't sure why, but he felt sad after Sora left. Like he wanted her to stay. "...Sora sure is a good friend."

* * *

><p>Tai and Matt met up behind the school like they had done the day before. It had been a minute or two since they had gotten there. They were waiting for Sora to show up. There had been no sign of her during the time they had been there. "What's holding Sora up?" Matt said.<p>

"Dunno..." Tai replied. _Maybe she's hurt at the way you talked to her yesterday!_ He thought.

Suddenly, both of the boys' cell phones went off. They had both received a message from Sora. It read, "Sorry, can't make it to the Digital World today. You two will have to go on alone. - Sora"

"What the hell!" Matt shouted, angry.

"There's no skipping a trip to the Digital World!" Tai said. He texted her back to ask her why she wasn't coming.

The two of them waited a moment for her to reply. It came a few moments later. "Kouji is insisting that I go on a date with him."

Matt and Tai both slapped their foreheads. "That's stupid!" Matt said. "Her social life is more important than the fate of the Digital World!"

"I agree," Tai said. "But it is what it is. Let's go on without her."

Matt huffed. "I _do not_ understand why you like to do everything the dangerous way."

"That has nothing to do with this. She's tied up, even though it's for a stupid reason. We should just go on without her."

"Okay, we'll go without Sora just this once. But you had better talk to her about this. I'm not going to stand for her pulling a stunt like this again!"

"Okay, okay. Don't get all bent out of shape."

Tai and Matt activated their Digivices and transported themselves to the Digital World.

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><p>Sorry it was a little short. Next one will be longer, I promise. Thanks for reading. I regret to inform you this is the last chapter that I have written right now. It will probably be a while before the next chapter surfaces. Thanks for reading. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave me a review. Thanks!<p> 


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